An Opportunity to Re-discover that Silver Lining to the Corona Lockdown for New Parents
After months of preparing for dreamy newborn days with partner by your side, friends and family visiting with hearty congratulations, admiration, gifts, love and hugs. Having the opportunity to proudly present your warm and soft, rather cute, newborn to the world, fresh with that unique newborn smell.
Your baby being almost continuously cuddle by the steady procession of visitors, who all want a hold, enabling your newborn to remain settled and nurtured, enabling some rest for you. The opportunity to have someone else lovingly hold your baby, soaking up the newness, enabling you to take in the whole picture, whilst snapping plenty of album memories, with your phone at the ready.
Having your mum, your sister, your sister-in-law, a good friend and/or healthcare professional at the ready to ask questions of and gently teach and model how to care for a newborn, whilst you position yourself in this brave new world of being a parent.
Being cared for as you heal, with some lovely meals made and the endless chores of this period attended to, by willing friends and family.
Are there elements of this picture that were your part of your newborn bubble ideals? Did you rightly dream of a period where you proudly introduced your baby to the world and expected to enjoy the world admiring your bundle, whilst you felt a sense of pride in your creation?
I hear you and I am so sorry that the Covid-19 isolation period has seemingly stolen from you everything this extra special life stage represents …. or has it?
If we were to shift our thinking just a little to the left we might recognise that along with the loss, there is much gained by being isolated during this time.
It is room to heal after such a huge life change – both physically and emotionally. This period of isolation can give you the time to rest to allow your body to return to health. You have been through a significant stress – months of physical growth, a day or two of childbirth – operative or natural, and now you are likely sleep deprived and creating food for your newborn.
This period of postnatal depletion is real. Take time, rest, eat wholefoods, walk and accept the love of a partner. Be self-indulgent enough to give yourself time to adjust to your new role. Be mindful of nature, ground yourself often, look around you and drink in your surroundings …. the feel of the grass, the smell of fresh rain, the trees changing color, the wind in your hair, sunshine on your face, the flight of a butterfly, the rain running down the glass, the sounds of nature.
Spend long luxurious periods drinking in the smell of your new baby. Watch them while they sleep. Cuddle often, play and kiss, stroke and nurse. The world can go by, Who cares what’s happening out there. This is a time for you to fall in love and the time is precious and shouldn’t be rushed. These circumstances of forced isolation have delivered you some uninterrupted time to focus on what’s most precious. You and your partner have created this beautiful little person and now is the perfect time to foster early relationships and nurture your new family….. so don’t waste it.
Isolation will soon be over and the world will start turning again. You can play catch up with grandparents, family and friends. Gifts will be exchanged, hugs and hearty congratulations will be shared. It will be a wonderful time and so exciting to look forward to. But for now, focus within. You are enveloped in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bunker down and immerse yourself in your new family. Bond with each other without interruption, create precious memories, learn a lot and love deeply…