Meeting Your Baby

When Bean Man first joined our family, we wanted to do everything with him right away. We took him shopping with us…

on beach-town getaways…

and pumpkin picking with us.

We felt like these little adventures as a new family were going to bring us closer together. A family that plays together, stays together, and all that.

But as I think back through those first few months with Bean, and then again when Gracie was born, I realize the real way to feel more connected to your newborn is to just be with them.

Some of my favorite memories of those first few, sweet months as a mom were spent in my own home, in my jammies, snuggling Bean. We’d snuggle on the couch, in our bed, in the rocking chair, out on the back porch. Everywhere we went, we were snuggling that sweet little boy.

Getting to know who Bean would become was a gradual, natural process. I wanted to rush it with staged “milestone” moments – our first weekend getaway, our first trip to the zoo (seriously, he was about three months old), our first day in the snow. But what I found was I learned more about Bean and about who I was as a mom in the quiet moments. Slow dancing in the kitchen to Norah Jones while I was cooking dinner…

…seeing Bean find his reflection for the first time in the mirror over his swing…

…hanging out on lazy Sunday mornings in our bed.

Those are the moments when you get to know your newborn. You don’t have to force it; I promise you. It comes as naturally as motherhood.

So if you’re welcoming a new little one into your family, don’t worry so much about setting time aside for special bonding moments. Instead, set some time aside to just be with your new family. In those moments you share together, you will meet your baby. And it will be fulfilling beyond belief.

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