It was 10 am when the neo natal ward sister brought the baby for her to see. Nobody had prepared her for this first look of the baby. She had never seen such a new baby before- just 5 hours old. She did not count all the perfect toes and fingers of the baby and neither did she bond immediately with it as they say in the books. She did not instantly sit up and take the baby in her arms amidst tears of joy- like they show in the movies. She was literally pinned down to the bed with the numerous tubes, the searing cut and the after effect of the anesthesia, half turned to her side and quite uncomfortable, as the ward sisters did not believe in propping the patient up with as many pillows as she needed.
One by one she drank in the details. The not so baby soft and smooth skin, extremely hairy- just like his father- thank God it’s a boy and not a girl, she thought, else she would have to battle with the facial hair her entire life. No body had told her that the hair would shed after a few months. She once again memorized the features as she ran her hand over the bald head of the baby. Just incase they do not make a mistake and exchange the baby in the nursery. They wouldn’t assured the sister. She proceeded to show her the identifying label on the baby’s arm and a matching one on hers.
For the second time, she was doing the examining. She looked at the hairy baby, the not-so-smooth skin and the hairy head of her baby.
How many times will you bring the baby to the mother, the ward sister said crossly.
But this is the second one!
Twins aaa !?
Yes, twins indeed, sighed the mother as she dropped off to an exhausted sleep. One that would be her last long sleep in the many months to follow.
14 comments:
Yeah I can relate. Rememsering teh first time I set eyes on Akhil and feeling nothing but a total spacing out. And later on, at night when my hubby and mum were napping, all I could do was stay awake and keep staring at him in disbelief that he was MINE.
A very honest expression of your first encounter with your
newborn(s). Yes, the baby skin does not look perfect, and yes, you do not bond immediately. Wish more birth stories would tell it as it is!
Nicely written, brings back nostalgic memories - was it only a little less than a year ago?!
Thank you for writing this. Now I feel less like a freak. All the other moms I know gush about that magical moment when they first saw their baby. That just did not happen to me.
And yes, 'baby-soft skin' and 'sleep like a baby' are some of the most deceptive terms ever.
It was well written.. Had no idea this is how a new born feels though..
Im going to link your post & write how I felt cuz I just stared here and It was long before I could start:-)
Nice post though:)
Swesome story. You must be having a lot of fun with the identical twins! btw, I heard that new born babies are not really very cute... I once asked my mom to honestly say how I looked when I was born I she replied... "You looked like a bald/dark monkey". But I think I looked cute after about 6 months ;)
awww...soo sweet
tharini- yes my mom said teh same thing- u will think from where this tiny person has come into your life
@, rohini- good to know there r more people like me. the nurse had to prompt me to kiss the babies and i wasn't sure if i was supposed to do that
rebel, la vida loca- thanks, keep coming
momof 2- thanks, will wait
kid- they are fraternal - go back to the post & read the difference in description- 1 is bald & 1 has hair on the head, may be will post a photo next to show how different they are
When I had Anush, I just remember being so overwhelmed that I had to be responsible now. Bef the surgery, I had been feeling that by that night things would get easier- little did i know - it had not even begun!
Surprisingly fr me it was different! When my son was born I was damn happy & they immediately put him on my chest & I was cuddling him. Luckily the pain wasnt much cos of the epidural for his birth. And looked damn cute when he was born!
Unfortunately fr my daughter's birth, I was soooooo desparate to have a girl but cudnt rejoice her birth as much cos I was in total labour pain...no pain killer also...I was bloody exhausted! She also looked cute but then it took me sometime to recover from pain to cuddle her!
That was so beautifully written. I so well resonate with 'feeling nothing' when I first saw her. Also the feeling that I might not recognize her was scary enough.
Will try to post mine on completing 1 yr :)
So reminds me of the time I saw my son for the first time inside the theatre.
I suppose you would've known that you were carrying twins and only the Ward Sister didn't? ;-)
I was more scared of not recognising my little ones ... freaky uh?
And the bonding comes over a period of time... immediately feeling is just "Let me rest"
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