One of the most amazing things about being a Mom is having the power to comfort your child just by holding him close. I remember a thousand times that my Mom has done that for me. Even now as an adult, somehow she can make it all better. All it takes is to have her arms wrapped around me and I feel her love and soothing. I’m actually getting teary eyed right now just thinking about it. There is no way I would have made it through all the tough moments in my life without my Mom. Everything from scraped knees, broken hearts, bad hair days, my car accident, my divorce, my pregnancy…she has always been there for me. Sometimes no words are necessary.
Now that I’m a Mom, I am starting to have the same experiences, of course on a much more basic level. If Dom is cranky, hungry, falls down etc. he comes running for me. I’ll swoop him up into my arms and make it all better. But last night, I really felt that moment of “wow, I was able to comfort him just by being his Mama.”
He woke up at 9:30pm with a scream. That gave way to rumblings, crying and shuffling around in his crib. I let him try and sort it out on his own for about 10 minutes, but he just couldn’t self soothe enough to go back to sleep. When I went in there and picked him up, his head instantly went onto my shoulder and his little paws clung to my arms. Usually when I take him out of his crib he stops crying instantly but this time he kept going. I rocked him, bounced him, asked him what was wrong but nothing was working. Little tears kept rolling down his face and his poor nose was dripping. I think he’s been teething again (another molar perhaps?) so maybe that’s what woke him up. After having some milk in his sippy cup, a diaper change and some cuddles on the rocking chair, I put him back in his crib and hoped he’d be able to get back to sleep. If I brought him into our bed he’d just think it was play time and then would suddenly be wide awake wanting to watch Gabba.
After listening to him cry for another 15 minutes, I knew he just wasn’t feeling well. I plucked him out of his bed and climbed into ours. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled the comforter around us. Right away he snuggled up to me, bunny clutched firmly in his arms, and slowly stopped crying. He nuzzled his little head underneath mine and let out a sigh. He was asleep in under 2 minutes. I lay there in the dark with my baby boy and felt proud and important and special. Even though he was crying and inconsolable a second ago, just having his Mama close made it all better. No medicine, no magic words, nothing specific. Just me. That’s an incredible feeling and I’m so lucky to experience it.
My whole life, my Mom has always been able to make it all better for me, and it always felt so amazing to feel that. It wasn’t until last night that I realized how good it feels for my Mom too.
Now that I’m a Mom, I am starting to have the same experiences, of course on a much more basic level. If Dom is cranky, hungry, falls down etc. he comes running for me. I’ll swoop him up into my arms and make it all better. But last night, I really felt that moment of “wow, I was able to comfort him just by being his Mama.”
He woke up at 9:30pm with a scream. That gave way to rumblings, crying and shuffling around in his crib. I let him try and sort it out on his own for about 10 minutes, but he just couldn’t self soothe enough to go back to sleep. When I went in there and picked him up, his head instantly went onto my shoulder and his little paws clung to my arms. Usually when I take him out of his crib he stops crying instantly but this time he kept going. I rocked him, bounced him, asked him what was wrong but nothing was working. Little tears kept rolling down his face and his poor nose was dripping. I think he’s been teething again (another molar perhaps?) so maybe that’s what woke him up. After having some milk in his sippy cup, a diaper change and some cuddles on the rocking chair, I put him back in his crib and hoped he’d be able to get back to sleep. If I brought him into our bed he’d just think it was play time and then would suddenly be wide awake wanting to watch Gabba.
After listening to him cry for another 15 minutes, I knew he just wasn’t feeling well. I plucked him out of his bed and climbed into ours. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled the comforter around us. Right away he snuggled up to me, bunny clutched firmly in his arms, and slowly stopped crying. He nuzzled his little head underneath mine and let out a sigh. He was asleep in under 2 minutes. I lay there in the dark with my baby boy and felt proud and important and special. Even though he was crying and inconsolable a second ago, just having his Mama close made it all better. No medicine, no magic words, nothing specific. Just me. That’s an incredible feeling and I’m so lucky to experience it.
My whole life, my Mom has always been able to make it all better for me, and it always felt so amazing to feel that. It wasn’t until last night that I realized how good it feels for my Mom too.
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