Learning To Hold Babies
Nope. This isn't my baby.
I think there may be something in the water, because it seems like everyone I know is having babies.
This is lucky for me, because I know very little about them. I may be a preschool teacher and have a ton of experience working with kids, but three-year-olds are very different from infants. Obviously. In the past week I’ve had more baby time than I’ve had in the past year before this.
I brought food to a couple of new mama friends of mine and got to practice holding their babies and then Thursday evening I got to go meet my cousin’s new little one Harlow. She had just been born that morning and she was definitely the youngest baby I’d ever held.
At first I was a little nervous, but the more baby holding I did, the more confident I became.
Read more after the jump!
I’m hoping that all this practice will help me feel more prepared when my little lady arrives in January. I’m especially glad that my cousin’s little girl will be around for me to get the most practice on. That way I won’t feel so much like I’m flying blind when I’m the one in the mama’s seat.
But, I honestly wonder if there’s any way to truly feel prepared for motherhood and having an infant beforehand or if it’s something you just figure out as you go? That’s how I felt about marriage. I read about a hundred marriage books and my husband and I went through pre-marital counseling, but then once we were married some of those rules and ideas from the books went out the window and we just kind of figured it out. Is having a baby kind of similar?
Did/do you feel prepared for having a baby?
Do you think you can really be that prepared – or do you think parenting is something you just figure out as you go?
i am also due in january and i am just a little bit scared of infants! they just seem so breakable! i love toddlers and kids that can tell me what they need and want, but babies are such a mystery to me. i have been ‘practicing’ on 2 babies of friends, but i know how limited this practice really is. i fear the night that i am in a tired daze and have to do parenting duties. do they try to flail around? so no, i do not feel prepared. but i wonder if anyone does or if they’re all just pretending to have if figured out! i never felt intimidated about marriage, which is something i know a lot of people who have failed at and admit it unashamed. i don’t really know anyone who talks about their failures and fears and reservations about parenthood. is there a support group?
You know, it is REALLY similar to your approach to marriage.. but it’s nice to have heard of things before they come up. Your baby won’t have every weird thing in the book, but when I went to the pediatrician and he mentioned clogged tear ducts, I was glad I already knew that it was harmless and would probably go away. I didn’t have to freak out, Google it, and spend hours researching before I felt okay because I already knew. It’s like your career – know the fundamentals and you won’t have to think about them, you can go on to the next step.
I think parenting is just one of those things that you figure out as you go. It’s different for everyone, and everyone has their own parenting style. Babies have their own personalities too, so there really is no way to “prepare” for parenthood.
http://www.fitandpreggers.com
I wasn’t scared or nervous about being a mother in general, but I had a few totally random fears. Mostly relating to holding/dropping a baby. And just like everyone says, you get over them really quickly.