So here's something I've been thinking about today.
My youngest child recently turned 6 months old. Shortly after midnight on February 10th, 2010, I went into labor. The really painful contractions were just a few minutes apart to start with, and continued to get closer together over the 4 1/2 hours of labor before my son was born. Most contractions were lasting at least 1 minute. For you ladies out there - you know how painful this is!! Through each and every contraction I practiced deep breathing techniques, and my doula helped talk me through each one reminding me "You can do this, You are doing great, It's almost over" and so on. Not once did I ever ask for any type of pain relief. Not once did I even Think about asking for drugs to minimize the pain. I had a goal in mind and that goal was to deliver my son into My hands in the water with No Drugs. I made it through the labor, and at 4:41 a.m. I was the first person to touch my baby as he was born under water and I got to catch him. It was amazing.
This is how my hard work paid off:
So how does this relate to stopping smoking? Well, if I was able to make it through each and every contraction without ever caving and getting pain medicine, getting through only by breathing and the support of my husband and doula.........well then I can get through the cravings for cigarettes. I will look at each craving like a contraction, knowing that with support I can get through it, knowing there will be more cravings before it's over, and I will get through those too. I will want to cave and get relief - but I will know that's not in my 'birth plan' or this case 'quit plan'. I will know that in the end - there will be new life. Maybe not a baby in this case - but a new life nonetheless because it will be a new Healthy life for me.
During labor it felt like it would never end, as I'm sure the nicotine withdrawl will feel too. But I have 7 beautiful children to prove that the pain of labor doesn't last forever, and neither will the pain from the withdrawls.
