It’s time to stop worrying so much about being the perfect mom, or stressing about newborn baby care after birth. Read one mom’s inspiring message to her last baby…
My dearest darling bunso baby,
You are my last baby but my heart still feels the same joy and wonder, the exact same explosion of love every time I held a new baby in my arms. I felt it with each of your older brothers, I feel it now as you nestle against me, your brand new baby skin smelling of mama’s milk. I’m so lucky I got to feel this tender and fierce love three times, and I feel luckier knowing that even as you will get older, this love will not fade at all. It will just grow and grow with you.
Photo: https://unsplash.com/photos/WCbCRXk7nmU
My dear bunso, you may be my last baby but you will receive the best kind of mommy care. This isn’t an empty promise, my sweetcakes. I know this from years of trial and error with your older brothers. I gave each of them my best, of course, but new motherhood was so fraught with worry and uncertainty and I did the best I could with no knowledge or experience to guide me.
After listening to so many other moms tell me what works and what doesn’t and applying all I’ve read and heard on your kuyas, I eventually learned the truth that one size truly doesn’t fit all. Some babies sleep through the night, some babies need to be rocked till dawn. Some babies are quiet and sweet, some babies are rough and tumble. That’s okay. There’s no need to compare at all! All those months I wasted fretting about milestones! So now I know I should just appreciate you and all of you for exactly who you are.
I wonder what you’ll be like, my dear bunso baby. Will you be an explorer like your first kuya, who always comes home sweaty with dirty hands and scraped knees? Will you be a calm observer like your second kuya, who doesn’t like the outdoors because his sensitive skin doesn’t like the sun and bugs? What would you be like and how will I take care of your own unique needs?
Photo: https://unsplash.com/photos/kd3qRzgEl70
Every baby is different — wonderfully so! — but some things remain the same. Every baby needs lots of cuddles, healthy food, physical exercise and mental stimulation, and devoted care and attention to what you specifically need. That’s why I’ll nurse you for as long as I can, I’ll clothe you in the softest clothes, and use only the best and gentlest products for your tender new skin.
Yes, I made the mistake of thinking babies didn’t need skin care because your skin is already so perfect. I thought as long as babies are clean, they’re good to go! But now I know through experience and lots of research that baby skin is the first line of defense against germs and allergens. If I had known that before, I’d have slathered your brothers’ little bodies with the best lotions to strengthen their defensive barrier! From day one and every day after! That’s one of the lessons I painfully learned as a new mom. But now I’m a third-time mom and I know better. I may never know everything about perfect parenting but I do know I’ll do everything to give you the best I can give.
Photo: https://unsplash.com/photos/N-VEeMnm7gE
My dearest bunso love, you are my last baby but you will receive the best kind of mommy care. Mama knows what to do now and oh how I’ll love you my way — the best way how! As I nuzzle your new skin and breathe in your fresh baby scent, I just can’t contain my excitement for this new adventure together. You will be so loved!
Devoted forever,
Mama
Baby Dove believes that there is no right or wrong way to care for your baby. Moms, trust in your way. And let Baby Dove give your child the gentle, moisturizing, real care that they deserve.