I’m a new mom…my daughter is three months old this week and wow has the time gone by fast since her birth. I realized yesterday that while a full year of maternity leave may sound like a long time, it’s going by in a blink. So I plan to enjoy every minute I have with her.
I’ve only been separated for any length of time from my daughter twice, and both times it was to attend Girl Geek Dinners Ottawa (hashtag: #GGDOttawa). As one of the co-founders, I have a lot of fun planning these events, networking and learning from the many smart and savvy women in our city. But wow, is it ever hard to be away from my daughter!
I used to sneer at the term “babywearing” because I thought it referenced your baby as an accessory instead of a person in her own right. I’m still not crazy about the term but I get it. The idea of keeping your baby snuggled close while you carry on with the day-to-day necessities of life (e.g. never-ending loads of laundry to fold) makes sense. It’s comforting for both mom and baby. So I “wear” my baby in a sling as much as possible.
There are times however, when babywearing just isn’t practical. You can move faster and get more done while your baby plays in her bassinet, bouncy chair, crib or playpen. I look around my house sometimes at what looks like the aftermath of a tornado. There is just baby stuff everywhere and the dishes are piling up, not to mention those piles of laundry. All I want to do is tidy up and get my house looking like it did before my daughter arrived.
And it’s yesterday that I realized all of this chaos is the way it should be. Now is the time to enjoy every moment I have with my daughter and not concern myself (too much) with the state of my home. A new routine will work itself out eventually. If my home will looks tornado-aftermath’ish right now, that’s ok.
For now, I’m going to enjoy snuggling my daughter into her sling and doing what we can together without worrying too much about what more I could be doing. For now, I’m going to embrace the chaos.
ps: The movie Away We Go has a funny scene in it where characters Burt and Verona (played by John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph) try to gift a stroller to babywearing mama LN (played by Maggie Gyllenhaal):
LN: [to Roderick] They bought us a stroller.
Burt Farlander: What’s wrong with a stroller?
LN: I LOVE my babies. Why would I want to PUSH them away from me?
3 Responses to “Embracing the chaos”
Muhammad
It is great to see that you are enjoying motherhood and spending time with your daughter. After all, there are too many of us that busy ourselves and neglect our futre: our children. It is essential that we take the time to nurture and bond with them from very early on as it roots them mentally, emotionally and psychologically for success! Just my 0.01 cent as I’m not yet a parent :-p
Mom
hey you do what you feel comfortable doing. And if you want to have your baby cuddled up against you that is the best. It keeps the both of you calm.
As for sleeping in the crib…that is awesome.
melgallant
Thanks Mom! 😀