Tonight, along with many Amer­i­cans, I watched “The Office” as Pam and Jim had their baby. I laughed a lot and thought about how com­edy is based on truth and how there was much to learn from this episode. Here’s my list of “Top 10 Things I Learned From Pam and Jim’s Birth”:

1. Labor and birth are nor­mal. It might not be your own “every­day” nor­mal, but it’s meant to work. And most of the time it does.
2. Dis­trac­tion can be help­ful in labor. Focus­ing on a movie, a game, going for a walk, etc., gives you a chance to let labor do its work and gives your mind a break.
3. Lis­ten to your body. Your body was so smart that it grew a whole other per­son. It doesn’t get “dumb” in labor. Your body will guide you to do what is needed to help your baby into the world.
4. It’s really a mir­a­cle. It sounds so corny, but it’s true: grow­ing a baby and giv­ing birth IS a mir­a­cle. How can you not believe it is when you see your incred­i­ble, gor­geous, and yummy baby in your arms?
5. Breast­feed­ing can have chal­lenges in the begin­ning. It’s a rela­tion­ship and it takes time to find the rhythm of give and take in any rela­tion­ship. Give your­self and your baby time.
6. One minute you feel on top of the world and the next you feel incom­pe­tent. Again, this is a new per­son in your life. Parts of par­ent­ing are so pre­cious and oth­ers are more frus­trat­ing than you ever imag­ined. In a few days you will be a cham­pion diaper-changer and baby-soother. In the mean­time, the more upset the baby gets, the calmer you will want to become. It really does help, I promise.
7. New­borns need to be held. A lot. Seriously——A LOT!!! They were held 24 hours a day prior to birth. They need your warmth, your voice and your heart­beat. You can’t spoil a new­born — they have needs, not wants.
8. Hav­ing a new baby means you will some­times snap at one another. It’s ok. Cou­ples often think that they will NEVER raise their voices or lose their tem­pers. Babies cre­ate amaz­ing highs as well as amaz­ing stress. Rec­og­nize that you can love one another and still get grumpy. Nobody’s per­fect, even if they want to be. You’ll laugh about it later — honest.
9. Allow friends and fam­ily to bring you food. You have a lot to learn in the early days and weeks. The peo­ple who care about you want to help and you need to eat. It’s per­fect! Let them bring you food. It may be the only way you get a hot meal in the first month.
10. Take a few moments just to enjoy it. The begin­ning of par­ent­hood has a really fast, steep learn­ing curve. Give your­selves per­mis­sion do noth­ing else but sit and stare at this sweet baby. You need to smell that incred­i­ble baby aroma every time you snug­gle them under your chin. Do what we here at Colum­bia Cen­ter rec­om­mend for par­ents and their babies: Cud­dle, Rock, Repeat…

Tags: birth, the office