Getting ready for opening night (week 34)
So I made the observation on Facebook that, now that I have only 6 weeks to go, if my due date were opening of a musical I would start rehearsing it now. This led to a flurry of comments from friends, asking if I had a production book, etc. I answered that of course I had a binder, with sections for pediatricians, feeding, etc.! Which of course led to somebody needing to inform me that despite the fact that I'm a stage manager, I can't possibly plan or prepare for the birth because they never happen as planned.
This is where I begin my thoughts this week. I have heard this a lot, that I shouldn't think i can plan the birth because the unexpected always happens. Which makes me think that either everyone thinks that because I'm a stage manager I'm a control freak, or that many many people think they can plan their births. Or both.
First of all, let me say that good stage managers, the ones like myself and beeker121 , are not control freaks. You can't stage manage big musicals and be the type of person that desperately needs everything to go exactly as planned or you'll scream. In fact, to a certain extent, you need to be a dynamic leader who welcomes the occasional unexpected event because it makes life much more interesting. :)
I explain this to make the point that I do in fact sort of see the birth as opening night...meaning I am planning for it as much as is possible, so when things go differently, and they will, I am as prepared as I can be for a positive outcome. This sort of dovetails into a post my sister emberleo just did regarding making your own luck, I guess, but I'm saying that - give me some credit - I have done so much research I'm fully aware that I can't control what happens, and I'm totally ok with it. I'm not worried about it, because that's why I'm having the baby in the hospital, right? I'll be surrounded by lots of people who know what they're doing.
Meanwhile, what I am focused on is the looong run...see, once you open the show, you gotta maintain it - it doesn't end at opening. My binder is not about the birth, it's about the kid, when I come home and there's nobody from the hospital there, just me and Mike and the baby and the rest of our lives. I keep hearing that most people make the mistake of planning for the birth and don't think about what happens afterward. Really? Really? Well, that certainly wouldn't be very good planning on my part either, huh?
I guess I'm really tired of getting advice overall. When you're pregnant, you get all sorts of random advice from people you don't know well, and also people who will give you pages and pages of email advice and then nullify it all by telling me that every child is different and I can't possibly prepare (yes, I had a friend who did this). I don't want to be obnoxious and tell people I've read books, taken classes and listened to podcasts about childbearing nonstop for the last 7 months, but...I guess I'm sorta over the advice - which is unfortunate since I also know from my research that once I'm out and about with an infant it will get worse. :)
This is where I begin my thoughts this week. I have heard this a lot, that I shouldn't think i can plan the birth because the unexpected always happens. Which makes me think that either everyone thinks that because I'm a stage manager I'm a control freak, or that many many people think they can plan their births. Or both.
First of all, let me say that good stage managers, the ones like myself and beeker121 , are not control freaks. You can't stage manage big musicals and be the type of person that desperately needs everything to go exactly as planned or you'll scream. In fact, to a certain extent, you need to be a dynamic leader who welcomes the occasional unexpected event because it makes life much more interesting. :)
I explain this to make the point that I do in fact sort of see the birth as opening night...meaning I am planning for it as much as is possible, so when things go differently, and they will, I am as prepared as I can be for a positive outcome. This sort of dovetails into a post my sister emberleo just did regarding making your own luck, I guess, but I'm saying that - give me some credit - I have done so much research I'm fully aware that I can't control what happens, and I'm totally ok with it. I'm not worried about it, because that's why I'm having the baby in the hospital, right? I'll be surrounded by lots of people who know what they're doing.
Meanwhile, what I am focused on is the looong run...see, once you open the show, you gotta maintain it - it doesn't end at opening. My binder is not about the birth, it's about the kid, when I come home and there's nobody from the hospital there, just me and Mike and the baby and the rest of our lives. I keep hearing that most people make the mistake of planning for the birth and don't think about what happens afterward. Really? Really? Well, that certainly wouldn't be very good planning on my part either, huh?
I guess I'm really tired of getting advice overall. When you're pregnant, you get all sorts of random advice from people you don't know well, and also people who will give you pages and pages of email advice and then nullify it all by telling me that every child is different and I can't possibly prepare (yes, I had a friend who did this). I don't want to be obnoxious and tell people I've read books, taken classes and listened to podcasts about childbearing nonstop for the last 7 months, but...I guess I'm sorta over the advice - which is unfortunate since I also know from my research that once I'm out and about with an infant it will get worse. :)