18/04/2024
Someone very close to me welcomed their first child earlier this week. I am suitably joyful and cannot wait for snuggles with the new baby, followed by handing them back and getting a full night's sleep, wahoo!
It set me off thinking about the first few days of my daughter's life and looking through newborn photos, a couple of which I've shared here, feeling soppy and nostalgic.
The natural temptation, as a now reasonably seasoned parent, is to impart some magical words of wisdom to the newbies. But then I stop myself. Generally, the best advice I have to offer is none at all! Every experience is completely different, every birth story, every circumstance, every baby is unique and wonderful and complicated and that tiny little squidgy bundle of love will almost certainly dictate their own rules.
It's a given, that there are universal aspects of looking after a baby, practical needs and requirements, but most intelligent adults have done their research and possess a decent amount of common sense, so who am I to point out the obvious?
Don't get me wrong, I want to be part of 'the village' it most certainly takes, to raise a child. I will be there to offer hands-on assistance, change nappies, babysit and sympathise when it inevitably becomes overwhelming. If anyone directly seeks advice from me regarding a topic, like breastfeeding struggles or which nappy rash cream works the best, I will wholeheartedly do everything I can to support them (preferable to scrolling a mums forum at 3am). Other than that, they're on their own journey. And what a journey it is. Their instincts will see them through.