Fostering Intuition
“The Truth is that no method will give us the key to unlock the mysteries of our babies. We cling to methods and styles when we feel out of control, and who doesn’t as a new parent? We feel like if we just do the right thing and figure it out, our babies will stop crying or learn to sleep better of be a genius or whatever it is that we are trying to accomplish…’if only I find the One Thing That Will Make It Alright, I will prescribe my life to it and not deviate from its plan. But the plan we are meant to be living is our own. The one that makes us all joyful, glad, happy and easy.’”
The Fourth Trimester, Heng Ou
Fostering Intuition—5 ways to intentionally allow your natural intuition to lead
1. Give yourself time and space.
It’s tempting whenever a problem arises to immediately go running to google for a solution. Google can be a useful tool certainly—it can also cause quite a bit of stress and overwhelm with the millions of advice columns and opinions that it pulls up. Googling can often become an intuition sabotage. Try and slow down and connect with your intuition first. If you really need some outside help, call your best mom friends or someone else who may have already gone through it.
2. Allow yourself to make mistakes.
Trial and error is a great way to learn. “Failure” does not mean that you are failing, but is sometimes the best way of ruling some things out and narrowing down your solutions. Come up with a handful of things to try, don’t be too hard on yourself, give yourself grace and if one thing doesn’t work, then just move on to the next!
3. Listen to your body’s signals.
Our bodies are so smart and are constantly telling us things! It’s too often that we don’t give ourselves the time, space and quiet we need to listen to it. Can you feel your blood pressure rising? Is your heart rate increasing? Do you have that one feeling you always get when you know something is off? Are you feeling anxiety or shame? These are all signs that you might need to step away for a minute and tune back into your intuition.
4. Educate yourself.
Do a little research on what is developmentally appropriate for your baby/toddler/kid. Especially if you’re like me and don’t have much experience with kids, this is a really empowering tool to have. It gives you a better grip on where your child is at and will make you a way better problem solver with your intuition leading the way confidently!
5. Self care.
Are you feeding yourself? Are you sleep deprived, exhausted or just burnt out and feeling like a failure? Try not to make big decisions when you are under too much stress. Take some time and do something just for you to rejuvenate yourself, and you’ll have a lot easier time getting in touch with your intuition.
Often times I think we end up losing touch with our intuition because of too much noise, as you might have noticed that was a theme throughout all 5 steps. Slowing down, giving yourself space and cutting out noise can go so far towards being able to put some faith in your role as a parent and naturally cultivate your intuition and allow it to lead. Remember, “the plan that we are meant to be living is our own.”