Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas
There’s no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one. Jill Churchill
As expected my grandson arrived at 10:30 am on Monday. Visitors are not allowed but he came home the next day and what a bundle of joy he is. He weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces so he is a substantial baby. I pulled out my son and daughter’s baby pictures from the hospital and he looks just like them. I haven’t seen a newborn baby picture of my son-in-law. It will be fun to watch him grow and change over the next little while.
He already has his own personality and if that little face isn’t smiling back at me I don’t know what that is. I’m pretty sure he has a dimple, he’s looking around taking everything in, and he’s very hungry, but is content most of the time. He’s getting enough to eat but he wants to eat often and with enthusiasm.
Our little dog is already concerned when he cries and wants to sit by mom and baby. It is a very special time and we are blessed to share it with my daughter and her husband.
New mothers are kept in the hospital for a very short time and I’m sure it must be overwhelming for some new mothers who haven’t been around many children to bring their newborn home and be totally responsible for this new being who seems so fragile in their newness. Breastfeeding is hard for many new mothers and one of the hardest parts is you can’t say I know he drank four ounces. They have to trust their body and their baby, and we don’t have a lot of trust in ourselves, we want evidence.
My daughter said to me yesterday, “Can you hold him while I have a shower?” Of course, I was happy too, when she came up baby and me, and Lulu the dog were sitting on the couch almost having a nap. One of the mothers at the hospital where they gave birth is probably not having such a serene experience. Her baby cried the whole time they were there.
People who say they sleep like a baby usually don’t have one. Leo J. Burke
I remember when I had my son, he hardly made a peep. One afternoon the nurse came in and woke me, “Aren’t you going to feed your baby?” My son was crying but I’d been listening to a crying baby that wasn’t mine for so long I didn’t realize he was the one crying. All he wanted was food and he was happy again.
Do we put too much pressure on new mothers to breastfeed? I don’t know, I do know it isn’t easy for everyone but when it works it means you always have lunch ready at the right temperature. Breastfeeding is thought by some to statistically significantly lower the risk of postpartum depression. Researchers from Florida Atlantic University’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and collaborators are the first to examine breastfeeding status and postpartum depression by studying a large national population-based database of 29,685 women living in 26 states in the US. Findings showed women who were currently breastfeeding at the time of the data collection had a statistically significant lower risk of postpartum depression. I’ve always thought about this and now there is a study.
My reasoning was, that our bodies control our thinking more than we might like with the hormones they produce, and a breastfeeding baby means a live baby. There is also the effect breastfeeding has on getting our body back to pre-pregnant status. The bond that breastfeeding creates between mother and baby can’t be duplicated with a bottle, and the superior nutrition it provides makes it the best way to feed the baby. Breastfeeding is linked to lower rates of autism. The studies trying to find the correlation between breastfeeding and lower rates of autism haven’t been able to isolate the factor, but they do see a relationship.
Not everyone will be successful in breastfeeding, but it might be so important that every baby should get the opportunity to breastfeed even for a short period of time if it is at all possible. The colostrum produced before the milk comes in might be so important that every baby should have access to it.
I’m looking for the benefits of colostrum and what comes up is how important it is for a newborn calf. If it is so important for a newborn calf why would it not be equally important to a newborn infant?
Being a new parent is a minefield full of judgment. It is important to do our best but that is all we can do, and we have to be okay with our shortcomings as people and parents. Breastfeeding may be best but it isn’t always possible, hopefully, my daughter can breastfeed until her baby weans himself. We are fortunate to have access to formula to feed our babies if it is required. There are so many “expectations” placed on new parents. It is so easy to let society make you feel inadequate because you aren’t doing what they think you should do, or looking how they think you should look.
As I watch my daughter and her husband with their newborn son my heart is filled with gratitude and joy. How wonderful to see the next generation taking their place as parents. A baby loved and wanted comes into the world and a family is created. It doesn’t get better than this.
A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for. Unknown
As new parents, the days may be long, but the years are short. You’ll never look back and wish you held your baby less. Unknown
A new baby is like the beginning of all things – wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities. Eda Leshan
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