I don’t know about you, but with my first baby, I was a bundle of nerves. I could hardly believe they let me out of the hospital with him! I was sure I would harm him and never be able to meet his nutritional needs. It was a journey to become a confident mom and there were many factors that helped me gain confidence that I could meet James’ needs. I think that this is a sentiment shared by many new moms – we feel ill-equipped for motherhood and at the same time feel the enormous weight of the responsibly of nurturing a new life. It’s a perfect storm for anxiety and even PND.
Looking back, I would say there were two things that really boosted by confidence and let me feel like I could do this mothering thing:
The first thing was a supportive mom. My mom built me up daily, telling me what a wonderful mother I was. Find your supportive voice and be one for someone else.
The other thing I did was to wear James in a carrier– he was rarely off me in those early days – whether we were walking along the beach, shopping or if it was sleep time and I was battling to settle him. I would pop him into my sling. In those days the best product on the market was a ring sling, which supported his head well and was a safe, womb-like space for James to be soothed.
My advice is to find a carrier that works for you- In the years that have passed, many upright carriers have come to market – none that truly support a newborn well enough – until now - the SnuggleRoo is as comfortable as a wrap carrier with no complicated fabric wrapping. This fully adjustable upright carrier is my first choice for carrier for confident parenting.
Written by Meg Faure for Snuggletime SnuggleRoo.