There is just something about rocking your baby that I can't describe. I have a couple friends who are pregnant with their first baby and have been asking for suggestions and must-haves for their registries and my common answer is that you'll need diapers and a glider.
Everything else is just gravy to me. (Ok, fine...I guess a couple of sleepers and blankets are NECESSARY, but you can see where I'm going here.)
I guess that's because I lived in my glider during their first few months of life. Especially Rachel was a grazer-type eater and I was pinned to the chair for most of the day. But it's hard to complain with a precious baby cuddled in your arms.
That's also why I never fuss about the girls waking up at night with bad dreams or something bugging them now. This is a rare occurrence, to say the least, but there is something about picking them up, carrying them downstairs, and feeling them relax against me that is so gratifying to me...filling that deepest mother-need.
Yesterday was just a day in this house. Elizabeth was a terror and Rachel was following suit. We had accidents and fits and boo-boo's and tantrums. In the middle of that, we had a plumber and lessons and a feeble attempt to get some sort of dinner on the table. Needless to say, Scott and I were ready for bedtime and rushed the girls through baths and pj's. While tending to Elizabeth's end of the day fit, I put her down and rubbed her back until she fell asleep - leaving Rachel to her daddy. Normally, these rolls are reversed, but Elizabeth was just so upset, I stayed with her. She gave up the ghost after a couple minutes, but Rachel was upset and still crying in her crib a half hour later.
And then it dawned on me. We hadn't rocked.
So I went in and gathered up my disgruntled little girl and we rocked until she relaxed and dozed off in my arms. It was the closure I needed after such a crazy day - almost God's way of bringing me back to center.
I think that this de-stressing is an important element to wellness that is easy to take for granted. I pray that you are able to find your place of comfort and take the time to cuddle your baby, hold your loved one, snuggle with your dog, or just be at peace for a while after what might have been a hectic 12 hours. And that that peace stays with you when things begin to get hectic once again.
Because they always will...
Have a great day!
When Eli was a baby, I would rock him to sleep every night and gently lay him in his bed, holding my breath lest I wake him. I was never able to do that with the twins. If I would hold one girl, the other would cry. If I held both, they both would cry. I learned fast that the only way things would work was to put them both in bed and let them learn to self-soothe and sleep on their own. I feel like I really missed out. Now, on the rare occasion that my busy little girls want to cuddle, I savor the moment. There's nothing like cuddling and rocking your child, that's the truth.
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