I've been trying to imagine the initial days with my newborn daughter, and I recall memories of my first two girls. They slept all day and lived to breastfeed at night. In the darkness of my room, I took in their scents, their sounds, the touch of their fingers... I am so excited to experience this again.
So as the final day of this series on newborns I welcome Alison of Mama Wants This!
As many of you know, Alison of Mama Wants This is a blogger with so much heart and soul. She truly gets it and writes about it. Her blog brings tears of joy to my face as well as tears from laughter. She is a gifted writer and thinker and inspires me as a woman and a mother.
So thank you Alison for writing a guest post for my blog today!
Scent of a Newborn
By Alison of Mama Wants This
The metallic smell of blood, when he was born.
My blood. Severe postpartum blood loss. Plummeting blood pressure. Midwives, calm but urgent. Drips, needles, drugs, quiet conversation, to save my life.
The familiar smell of tea and toast, my first meal in 30 hours.
Ravenous, I ate while my newborn slept peacefully, his father snapping pictures.
The assuring scent of lavender soap, my first shower after he was born.
Blood still streaming down my leg. My husband gently soaping me off. Washing my hair. Hot water pounding down on my tired body. A midwife keeping an eye on our 2-hour old son.
The distinct smell of a hospital, as I was finally wheeled from the delivery room to the maternity ward, 4 hours after our firstborn came wailing into the world.
A comfortable double bed. My things in my still unpacked diaper bag. My eyes are drooping, fatigue is taking over, but I'm desperate to hold my child, I need to nurse him.
The unfamiliar but gorgeous smell of his newborn skin, as he latched on and nursed.
I looked down at my son, my beautiful child. His eyes closed, his mouth making quiet sucking sounds, his cheeks full, his head full of black hair, his little fingers clutching mine, his tiny feet, oh-so-small.
This - this is the scent, the sight, the sounds I've been waiting for as a new mother. Finally.
22 comments:
Your memory of that day is so vivid. Great description of the sights, sounds and smell of finally becoming a mother, Alison!
Thanks for having me here today, Kim! Hope you're recovering well from your C-sec, and the baby is doing well!
I can't remember the first cry, or how my babes looked when they first came out, or how they felt before they were cleaned off. I very vividly remember the newborn smell though. I love that smell so much, thank you for the memory!
Breathtaking, Alison. I love how you've weaved those moments together.
There is so much here, in so few words. Scent is a powerful memory trigger, and this is beautifully written. I'm sorry there were complications, but I'm so happy to read about the moment you could finally breathe him in and just be Monkey's mom.
My husband always says you shouldn't trust something that bleeds for more than 7 days and doesn't die LOL! How about for 6 weeks then? No one tells you that you could lose all that blood and still live! How is it even possible? But then once you hold that baby it's crazy to think you created such a miracle. Just think you'll be going through this very soon again!
That sounds very familiar. You managed to capture the feelings and sounds so well in a short piece, Alison!
This is simply beautiful.
What a frightening time afterwards, though. I pray everything will go smoother the second time around.
Kim, I can't wait to hear how you and baby are doing. Hope everything went smoothly.
This is such a beautifully written birth story! And, the fact that you wrote it in under 300 words is nothing short of a miracle. I think birthing experiences, no matter how far away we are from the experience,stay with us always.
Your post is so descriptive! I love how you intertwined your complications with that precious newborn smell.
This was beautiful! I feel like I can almost smell lavender soap. And baby. I want another baby now!
oh my...that's such a simple, sweet birth story...
You truly took it all in. What a great way of remembering it. I am so excited you are on your way to reliving these memories!
This is stunning, girl. {Truly}
Absolutely beautifully written.
So lovely, Alison. Gorgeous use of the power of scent and the pace was simply perfect. xo
Beautiful Alison.
You wrote about your experience perfectly.
I hope this time you hold your baby sooner
Beautifully written!
Beautiful! Perfect! So vivid! Bravo! Bravo! (And so glad you're ok, and Monkey is healthy and safe.)
Oh that smell! I can hardly walk into the nursery area of hospitals without wanting another baby. Beautiful post Alison!
Alison, this was very interesting to read - I felt I was 'there' - but I'm sorry the delivery was such a struggle for you. Of course, in the end, it's all worth it. You communicated that so well with this poetic post.
This took my breath away. Simply beautiful, as always Alison!
Post a Comment