To the New Mum on her First Day in Motherhood,
Congratulations! You did it. Your baby is here and they are beautiful.
You will look back on this first day as a blur. Most likely, you are tired from the birth – Tired may not even begin to cut it! Perhaps you are still high on all those wonderful afterbirth hormones, or maybe this little amazing creature doesn’t even feel real yet and everything is just sinking in.
Whatever you are feeling, breathe in your baby. Take your time with them. Stare at them. Inspect their little hands, their tiny fingernails. Watch their little squints, and take in their little snores. All that time – all those months you watched them stretch out your belly, and you felt them kick and squirm. You were tired for them, sick for them, you dreamed about them, imagined their little face, and who they would be. And now you know! Here they are. Take your time with them. Take in every beautiful and glorious piece of them.
Watch your partner with them, and feel the love beaming out of them from across the room. They have waited for this moment as much as you have – all their dreams and their hopes as their family is finally coming together all because of this little person. It truly will be one of the most amazing things you will ever witness. And yes, it may be the loved-up post-birth hormones talking, but there is something about seeing your partner and your child getting to know each other for the first time. It’s a love that you never knew, a love that you once thought was cheesy and impossible, but seeing your partner become a parent is unlike anything else. The love that you have for them is now somehow stronger and more beautiful than ever before.
You may not know the first thing about babies, or how to be someone’s parent. Don’t worry about this today. You’ll quickly work out that this doesn’t matter all that much. All that baby needs is you! No new mum knows what she is doing. Despite all the books and all the research, you will quickly learn that there is no such thing as a textbook baby, or a textbook method to parenting.
Take it slow.
Take time to ask for help if you need it, and always remember that your baby is yours and no one else’s. They chose you and you are the one they need. You may not know how to be their mum but they are learning too and you will get through it together. You are a new little team.
So enjoy your first day as a mum. It may be surreal, and it may even feel like a dream, but it is here and it is real. Enjoy telling your family and friends that your bundle has arrived, and spend your day staring at them. Enjoy that rest while they are having their little cat naps (as tempting as it is to continue to stare!).
Congratulations Mum, your moment begins now. Enjoy your baby and enjoy the new life that is just beginning, it truly is an amazing and beautiful ride.
This letter was written by the lovely Jessica from Our Sea Changed Life. She is a mother of two and shares her journey of motherhood on her blog and her Instagram.
