Sunday, March 06, 2011

Things I love about newborns

Everyone raves about "that newborn smell." I'm not sure if I've ever noticed it, but I do love...

wrinkly hands
wrinkly feet
forehead creases and rosebud lips

What do you love about newborns?
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31 comments:

  1. Oh, I love how big their eyes are. And the noises they make. The world is just so new! Congratulations Rixa, to you and your family. Much rest and blessings to you.

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  2. I also love their little grunty, squeaky noises.

    And the way they fit in the crook of your arm.

    I noticed, while nursing my almost 8-month-old the other day, the way she already spills out of my lap like a toddler. And of course I delight in her growth, but there is something so sweet about how they fit between your elbow and your palm in the first weeks.

    And the uncontrolled arm movements, the little startle when you unwrap them.

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  3. Congratulations first off! Love her name. What a wonderful birth too and it's wonderful you knew just what to do when Inga had issues with breathing. Inspires me to learn infant CPR.

    I have to say the warm sweet buttery-toffee smell and the floppy warm closeness you feel when you hold them on your chest. The vernix you find in their creases that reminds me of just how NEW they are. How they 'melt' into your body and snuggle!

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  4. awwww...! I love those rosebud lips, just asking to be kissed and kissed! And how sometimes when they close their eyes it turns into one long squeezed-shut crease along their face. And that darting little tongue!

    I was geared up and ready for "that newborn smell" when my son was born. Straight out of me, I lifted him up and gave him a sniff, and...it was so...unremarkable, kind of astringent smelling. Though perhaps my senses were dulled by all the unwanted obstetrical drugs.
    In the weeks and months to follow, though, WOW, his smell really developed. Made me swoon. I really do wonder if maybe I wasn't receptive to it because of being on Syntocinon and an epidural for 2 days...and became more receptive over time as I spent time with him and re-established my own oxytocin production?

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  5. How teeny soft and warm they are. Their little ears being floppy and not seeming to have much cartilage yet. The ridiculous mosshy cheeks. The no teeth. The way they root and snoot if they get ANYTHING by their faces ("maybe its a boob!?")

    How when you bunt them up in a burrito style swaddle, they truly look like dolls. The little fuzzy shoulders--mine all had little rolly fat furry upper backs and shoulders. I remember chubbing them and stroking them, their onesies so baggy that I could slip my fingers into their necks of their little clothes and pet the softness.

    I even miss the hard stuff-- like how hard it is to give them a bath. How hard it is to diaper them and dress them. How they are way too little for carseats. The freaky amazing soft spot. Their miniature nails.


    I love and miss how many pillows and arrangements I seemed to need just to nurse them in a chair. How teeny they were next to the giant boob--haha!
    It seems like in an instant they were huge, legs dangling off my lap, digging in my bra telling me "I wanna nursie wif my blue blankie...etc" :)

    Mama of 5, done havin babies, petting the computer screen at the tiny miss Inga. Oooooh mooshy beebee!

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  6. I love their little frog feet, their teeny-tiny nails and their rosebud lips that almost disappear at times.

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  7. I love newborn sleep smiles, and how those tiny hands unfurl and close around a finger. I love most how they look both inquisitive and knowing as they evaulate all that they see. Seems like they are thinking, "hmm, I think I did well, this mommy is just so." I love that newborn wisdom.

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  8. I love the newborn cry! It's so sweet and innocent. I miss it when it changes :-(

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  9. I love how they jump into REM sleep with their eyes open..

    And everything else. :) (E is 2.5m, so it's all still pretty fresh)

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  10. sweet baby "O" mouth, thumbsucking,dreaming smiles ang laughs when they are just days old, that they -want- to be in my lap, the soung of gulping while nursing, soft soft hair and skin....

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  11. Soft, soft, cheeks. :)

    She's marvelous, Rixa, congrats!

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  12. Both my daughter and my nephew had the same newborn smell -- to me, it smells kind of minty. My daughter was born first, and when I smelled it on my nephew, I just swooned. But I don't think all babies smell that way. Congratulations on baby Inga! I love her name!

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  13. I love the newborn baby hedgehog snuffles.
    Congrats on an awesome birth and another beautiful child

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  14. I love the weight of them when they're sleeping on your chest. ::sigh::

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  15. The little puff of breath in their newborn yawns on my cheek... just one more little piece of evidence they are REAL and HERE and ALIVE!

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  16. Congratulations Rixa, she is just beautiful and what an amazing woman you are - your birth video illustrates what an incredible and empowering experience it is to bring a baby into the world.

    My favourite thing is watching my baby breastfeed, I get transfixed seeing their little muscles and jaw work and the clicking noise that accompanies it. I could watch it for hours and not notice the time go by.


    Lauren

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  17. P.S. Inga is super cute, is she more like Zari or Dio so far?

    Lauren

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  18. I love their little movements. Especially the ones they make while sleeping. Also, having changed 3 poopy diapers on my 14 month old today, I miss how newborn poop doesn't stink!

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  19. I am only familiar with my two, but from their first weeks, I miss:
    - the way they both slept in "Victorious Lobster" pose, arms out straight from their sides with elbows at a 90 degree angle and fists curled;
    - the way they bunched up so nicely against my chest like little capuchin monkeys when I wore them in a wrap, such compact little packages. Toddler wearing is hazardous by comparison, the way they always reaching for things;
    - they are so elemental, creatures of simple needs;
    - maybe most of all, the lovely milk coma they go into after a good nurse, complete with a little bit of milk dribbling out the side of the mouth.

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  20. Inga is adorable! Thanks for sharing the video of your birth too, it was amazing! Can you tell us more about neonatal resuscitation? We don't have courses around where I am. Do you cover the mouth AND nose when you do mouth to mouth?

    I love the newborn smell, their breathing noises and grunts, their tiny hands. My daughter's nose was squashed to one side in the first couple weeks, that was adorable too.

    Olivia

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  21. Oooooohh congratulations on Inga! She is absolutely beautiful. I have been enjoying reading your birth story, thoughts, and watching your videos ~ they are all making me so excited for the upcoming birth of my #4 ("any day now" ~ but probably more like in the next 10-14 days or so).

    I LOVE newborns' wrinkles too, their soft skin, the way they root for their mamas, and the way we are made perfectly for each other.

    Sigh....

    enjoy your babies ~ I hope the transition to a family of five is going flawlessly for you!

    Blessings.

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  22. Congratulations-and thank you for sharing this birth by word and by video.

    I have a question about neonatal resuscitation. Did you learn this while you were studying with a midwife? How would a lay person go about learning this?

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  23. I love the way they tuck arms and legs in when you place them on your chest.

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  24. Oh my! My little boy is 6 weeks old and already so much less newborn-ish.

    I love fuzzy shoulders, wrinkly backs, flaky feet, the dozens of different faces that flash out during fluttery REM sleep.

    Sigh...

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  25. To me the "newborn" smell doesn't kick in until the breastmilk is flowing well and, probably, for about a week. So, it's not a "new"born smell to me, really. (Basically, I agree with you on that!) :)

    I just love the way they feel... still all curly and sorta holding themselves together. The way their skin feels so silky smooth and how they seem to peer out of their own eyes... like they aren't quite used to that odd perspective, which, of course, they are not! ^_^ Newborns are just magical!!!

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  26. I love the way they just melt into you when holding them over your shoulder! And I love the way my newborn happily rolls off my breast half asleep with a satisfied lip smack complete with milk spilling from her tiny mouth! I love the first year more than anything and the newborn stage is my fav of all! Cheers to Inga! You look great!

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  27. I love when they tuck their arms up under their chins and lean way back while they stretch. I'm always so sad when that disappears. I also love it when they are swallowing as fast as they can to keep up with an extra-big let-down. One of my sons had a hard time figuring out the suck-swallow sequence, and he leaked milk out of his nose during feeding sessions for a few weeks. It was quite adorable, especially since it didn't seem to bother him in the least.

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  28. Awww! She is SO CUTE! I love newborn snuggles!!!

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  29. My favorite thing about my newborns were their little baby heads. They are firm but with such soft silkiness.

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  30. Another vote for the rosebud lips! I must have stared at my son's lips for the first two or three weeks after he was born, in awe of how beautiful they were. And the vernix - I just kept noticing bits of it here and there, under his arms, by his toes, behind his knees. I also loved his ET neck - all long and wrinkly - and his turtle face when he was hungry. He'd close his eyes and do this thing with his upper lip that made it look pointed, like a turtle's beak.

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  31. She's just adorable!! Congrats! I love the feeling of nursing a newborn for the first time! And I LOVE the newborn cry, so adorable.

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