Having a newborn is a magically terrifying experience. You are suddenly responsible for a human being and, if you are anything like me, when you start, you aren’t even sure if you can look after yourself.
The days of having a newborn are a distant memory now our boy is two and a half. Having a toddler is amazing (and epically stressful), but there are a few things I really miss about having a newborn.
Smells
Nothing beats those newborn smells. Oh if I could bottle it, I’d make millions. I don’t know what it is about it, but the smell of your baby is just addictive. No matter what, that smell used to always make my day. It didn’t matter how tired or ill or grumpy I was or what time of the night I was up, the smell of our little boy when he was dinky was an absolute delight.
Not only that...but nappies didn’t smell. They were gruesome at times, but breastfeeding meant that although the waste looks nuclear, it was in fact almost odour free - a dream in comparison to what I’m dealing with now!
Cuddles
Babies just cuddle. Even if maybe they don’t want to, they just kind of do, they can’t do much else really for the first 6 months. We used to take it in turns to just cuddle the baby when we were sitting on the sofa. What an absolute delight - a child who just stays still and gives you some love. Everyone always said to us to make the most of it and oh my goodness, weren’t they right!
Sleep
When we were in it at the start, we thought the world was ending - little did we know that the newborn days are pretty good on the sleep front. We were still getting some decent shut-eye at night, but we thought we were so hard done by. Looking at it now, we knew nothing. I miss that our newborn used to actually sleep and even though it was broken, it was simple. Sleep now is a luxury., If you’re reading this and you have a newborn, make the most of the sleep...because it gets seriously hardcore at times, trust me!
Clothes
Those little baby grows, the tiny socks and hats, is there anything cuter than it? I think that you just sort of forget how small your kids once were. I feel like our little boy has always been a chunk. It isn’t until I’m flicking back through the 23,876 photos of him that I have on my phone and I see one of him the length of my forearm that I realise he was once that dinky. We were sorting through a load of clothes the other day and just seeing the little baby grows nearly brought a tear to my eye...time for another?
Noises
It’s quite a common misconception that babies are quiet. They aren’t. They’re little animals and I can only liken sleeping next to a newborn to sleeping next to a small piglet. The noises they make are adorable and I just wish I had more recordings of those little noises that have now been replaced by my favourite word (not), “why?” What I’d give to go back and hear those newborn noises again.
Make the most of the newborn days, no matter how tired and run down you feel. They’re magical and you’ll soon be missing them.
