Bringing a new little person into the world who is entirely dependant on you for all their needs can be a terrifying concept. You have probably come across those funny memes depicting a clueless parent being sent home from the hospital with their new baby and no instruction manual. They make for a good laugh but they also illustrate a very real fear! In this parenting journey you will likely be given advice from all directions. Some of that advice may actually be very useful too! There is certainly nothing wrong with gathering information or taking a newborn care class. These avenues provide you with information to draw on as you decide what works for your family.
However, sometimes in all of that we don't realise the skills and abilities we learn through the journey of pregnancy and birth. I'm a firm believer that those experiences give you a pretty strong foundation to build your parenting skills on. You are going to acquire some very valuable decision making skills along with honing in on some amazing intuition. Like we are talking mind blowing intuition!
It starts from the moment you find out you are pregnant. You may find you instantly change your life up without a second thought. You start making decisions that impact your baby sometimes even in the planning process! Maybe you quit having that evening glass of wine as soon as you started trying for a baby, or maybe the moment you peed on that stick you felt like you were seeing your life through an entirely different lens. As you navigate doctors appointments and deciding which procedures are right for you you will weigh risks and benefits, ask questions you may never have asked if only your health would be impacted, and followed your instincts even if they go against the grain.
During birth you might find a voice you didn't know you had (literally! you make make some sounds you didn't know you could!). You may find yourself insisting on certain procedures and denying others. As you make your way through that process you are already learning how to care for your child! Parenting is chalked full of hard decisions, and uncertainty. However, it's also filled with a lot more certainty that most parents realise. Sometimes you just know what your child needs. Not because it was in a book or your best friends baby was the same, but because you are forever tied to your child and their needs in an almost inexplicable way. You watch their every move, sound, and reaction so closely that their needs often seem like second nature. You know how to advocate for them because you have been doing that since you discovered your pregnancy. You are more prepared than you realise!