Tattoos & Childbirth: How Getting a Tattoo & Having a Baby is the Same
Ok, so actually it's not. At all. The only thing similar between the two experiences was the fact that I needed a doula for both of them!
With the birth of my daughter, I had two doulas and absolutely needed them both. I knew birth was going to be difficult and that I would need support. Women to keep me focused. Remind me I can DO THIS. Suggest things to help me relax and give in to the process. They were fantastic and helped me so very much!
With my tattoo, I just decided to do it. I'd been thinking about it for a while and one evening decided to go for it. I called up a friend and voila- I was on my way! Before I even had a chance to really wrap my brain around what was happening, I was up on the table feeling the first line... and realizing that it hurt WAY more than I remembered (sort of like childbirth).
Before I knew it, I was looking for distraction. Then, I was wanting to MOVE. I began rocking back and forth on the table (luckily I was able to keep my leg still). Then, I began vocalizing- deep humming noises or singing along with the records they were playing. At one point, the music ended and I told Jon, my artist, he better have someone flip the record or they were going to have to listen to me sing!
As we were closing in on the homestretch, I remember a feeling of "I don't want to do this anymore!" I was in tattoo transition! That was when I really needed a tattoo doula- someone to keep me focused and to remind me that I was almost done.
In the end, I did it. I got off the table swearing I would never get another tattoo- the exact same way I felt after pushing out my daughter- but, here I am two weeks later, already thinking about my next one.
So, maybe getting a tattoo and having a baby is (sort of) the same- I needed a doula, it hurt way worse than I remembered, I needed to MOVE and make noise, and there's a transition period of sorts.