I sit with a blank canvas in front of me trying to make the words come; Leo, my youngest, is napping. Then I hear it, he’s waking. I wait a minute hoping
he’ll find his thumb and fall back asleep – after all, he’s only been in his bed
a whole 15 minutes! He begins to fuss and I think, “NOOOOO – I want to write in this new blog, and the dishes need doing, and the kitchen needs to be cleaned. I have a whole basket full of clean diapers waiting to be folded, a load of laundry in the dryer and one in the washer and Mt Washmore waiting in the wings. The floors need mopping/vacuuming and I’ve got to make the mashed potatoes this afternoon for dinner this evening and remember to preset the oven to cook the meat loaf while we’re at conferences at school so we can get home, eat quickly, and I can get to the La Leche League meeting… please, please, please go back to sleep.” I wait another minute and know he needs me. The poor boy is 3 ½ months and cutting his first tooth and has bouts of uncontrollable crying. I pick him up and cradle him against my shoulder as he wails and I look around at my never-ending To-Do list and a peace comes over me. He will be little only once. He will cut his first tooth only once. He won’t always need me like this. There will come a time when the house is spic-and-span and I have endless time for books and writing, but that time is not today. At this moment, he needs me. I walk. I cradle. I shushhh. I offer him a breast and he refuses, screaming all the louder. I show him outside. I offer a teething ring. I change his diaper and he wails even more. Then I strip him down to his diaper, toss off my shirt, and hold him close, Skin To Skin. It’s not an
off switch, but in moments he begins to calm. His wails turn to sobs, and sobs to
sniffles. He buries his head in my neck and shoves his fingers in his mouth and babbles – it sounds like, “mamamamamamam.”
Skin To Skin – never forget how big and imposing this world can be to your baby and how much skin to skin can help. Skin to skin care will help regulate your baby’s body temperature, his breathing, his heart rate, and metabolic system.
Skin to skin care will calm him, and you too. It’s an amazing feeling to bond so close to your baby. If your baby is just born and you’re having a tough time getting him to
latch, keep him skin to skin. If
he’s a few weeks old and going through a growth spurt, keep him skin to
skin. If he’s a few months old and
upset, keep him skin to skin. The
kitchen can clean itself.
he’ll find his thumb and fall back asleep – after all, he’s only been in his bed
a whole 15 minutes! He begins to fuss and I think, “NOOOOO – I want to write in this new blog, and the dishes need doing, and the kitchen needs to be cleaned. I have a whole basket full of clean diapers waiting to be folded, a load of laundry in the dryer and one in the washer and Mt Washmore waiting in the wings. The floors need mopping/vacuuming and I’ve got to make the mashed potatoes this afternoon for dinner this evening and remember to preset the oven to cook the meat loaf while we’re at conferences at school so we can get home, eat quickly, and I can get to the La Leche League meeting… please, please, please go back to sleep.” I wait another minute and know he needs me. The poor boy is 3 ½ months and cutting his first tooth and has bouts of uncontrollable crying. I pick him up and cradle him against my shoulder as he wails and I look around at my never-ending To-Do list and a peace comes over me. He will be little only once. He will cut his first tooth only once. He won’t always need me like this. There will come a time when the house is spic-and-span and I have endless time for books and writing, but that time is not today. At this moment, he needs me. I walk. I cradle. I shushhh. I offer him a breast and he refuses, screaming all the louder. I show him outside. I offer a teething ring. I change his diaper and he wails even more. Then I strip him down to his diaper, toss off my shirt, and hold him close, Skin To Skin. It’s not an
off switch, but in moments he begins to calm. His wails turn to sobs, and sobs to
sniffles. He buries his head in my neck and shoves his fingers in his mouth and babbles – it sounds like, “mamamamamamam.”
Skin To Skin – never forget how big and imposing this world can be to your baby and how much skin to skin can help. Skin to skin care will help regulate your baby’s body temperature, his breathing, his heart rate, and metabolic system.
Skin to skin care will calm him, and you too. It’s an amazing feeling to bond so close to your baby. If your baby is just born and you’re having a tough time getting him to
latch, keep him skin to skin. If
he’s a few weeks old and going through a growth spurt, keep him skin to
skin. If he’s a few months old and
upset, keep him skin to skin. The
kitchen can clean itself.
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