That New Baby

I was feeling awfully nostalgic today. There's a song on the country stations right now that has a line about the first time you hold him (meaning your newborn). Ahh, I just melt. I remember exactly what it felt like to hold my newborn babies skin to skin. And their skin was so soft and their shoulders so little. It's an absolute melt you moment.
An associated memory was the next step, starting nursing. I wasn't prepared for it really. Here I had just spent hours and hours in labour. I didn't remember the last time I had eaten (and anyways lost what I had eaten in the labouring process). I really just wanted to know that my babies were okay, have a shower and go to sleep. But no. That baby has worked hard too. That baby was now hungry and there was no umbilical cord feeding him anymore.
I remember with my first how the nurse told me to just let her know when my son was ready to nurse and she'd help us out. Great! How do I know when he's ready? I mean really, this was brand new to me. I'd already done something I'd never done before that day, it was called giving birth. Now I had to learn another skill. (Look out for hunger signs such as him smacking his lips, licking his lips, opening and closing his mouth - and really, they do want to try to eat within that first hour. I mean wouldn't you want a little something if you'd had to do all that hard work?)
I was a little more prepared for the fact that everything wasn't all over once I had my second baby. I knew this time that they (meaning the doctors and nurses) wanted a good nursing attempt within the hour. I just had to remember how to do it with a newborn who had no idea (just instinct) what he was doing.
It really is a learned skill. It can be awkward and frustrating for the both of you. Jill wrote some great stuff on how to breastfeed. I didn't want to get into that with this post, I really just wanted to live in memory land of my newborns. Those little shoulders, that soft skin, those perfect tiny faces...

The Wheel by Victoria Banks

You come into the world kickin and screamin
The clock starts ticking with the breath youre breathin
Tiny hands, tiny feet and all you do is eat and sleep
Then you blink your eyes and crawlin across the floor
Then you blink them again and youre runnin out the door
For a tire swing, a school bus, and a second hand Chevy
And you're kickin up dust
It happened so fast, just like that


Oh, the wheel keeps turnin and the flame keeps burnin
And the hunger in the heart and the spirit of a soul keeps yearnin
And the wheel keeps turnin


You fall for love on a prayer and a wing
And your heart gets broken and you feel that sting
Then you fall again, and it sure feels right
And a half a second later theyre throwin rice
Then youre back to work and the honeymoons done
Boy, time flies when youre havin fun
You buy a little house with a leaky roof
Then youre paintin that nursery baby blue
The first time you hold him it starts all over


Oh, the wheel keeps turnin and the flame keeps burnin
And the hunger in the heart and the spirit of a soul keeps yearnin
And the wheel keeps turnin


The sun comes up and the moon goes down
The rock in the sky spins round and round
Its one more day here on the ground as the stars roll by
You live and learn breakin bins, say a little prayer when the daylight ends
Wake in the mornin, do it all again, its a crazy ride


Oh, the wheel keeps turnin and the flame keeps burnin
And the hunger in the heart and the spirit of a soul keeps yearnin
And the wheel keeps turnin


You come into the world kickin and screamin
And the wheel keeps turnin