For all the parents on lockdown..
This is probably not how you pictured this time. Throughout pregnancy you probably kept yourself going by picturing bringing your baby home, showing him off to your family and friends. Shrugging off your tiredness after a wakeful night to tickle your baby’s tummy at a massage class with your mum friends, or curling up like a pretzel with him at baby yoga.
Instead there are cuddles on the couch. Big trips out are to the garden. Baby yoga on a blanket spread over the living room floor. Meeting grandparents over Zoom. Doing pretty much everything over Zoom!
At times like this, finding things to worry about it is easy. Worries that are around all the time, like ‘will they be healthy and happy?’ and worries that are of the moment- ‘how is my baby coping with lockdown?’ ‘Is he missing out on social interaction?’ ‘Am I enough?’
Whenever this thought crosses your mind, remind yourself that to your baby you are always enough. To your child you are the whole world. During the long months of pregnancy, all a baby knows is his mother, he spends every minute listening to her voice, her heartbeat, the sound of her breathing. All he can smell is her scent. And now that your baby is out in the world, the place he feels safest is with you.
So when stress or worry starts to creep in, take a break and remind yourself that you are amazing. Find a moment of mindfulness with your baby. Hold him and look at him while he looks at you and know that you are everything he needs. Know how much he loves you. Note the colour of his eyes, count his tiny fingers and toes, breathe his unique baby scent and enjoy watching him grow and change every day.
Hold your baby and remember that although the world is locking down, your baby is exactly where he wants to be.
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