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Hawaii Babies
redshoegirl
member
*** MrsNJSwimmer ***
redshoegirl
member
I cracked up when I read this about being a SAHM:
MrsNJSwimmer:
I also don't think I could have done it - esp in the beginning. While I wasn't really wanting to come back to work, say, I was ready to be away from the baby more (sorry if that sounds horrible, but I just needed a break!). I love him to pieces, but I wasn't cut out for taking care of an infant.
When I returned to work, I was amazed at how good it felt to get a break! When people asked how I was doing, I'd say, "Awesome! I get regular meal breaks and can pee whenever I want without anyone crying!" And they'd laugh, but the sad thing is...it was totally true. I never thought I'd say it (and I felt a little ashamed to admit it), but even though I didn't have to return to work until they were 6 months old, it was actually a nice break to go back 3 days a week. I love my sons more than anything else in the world, but sometimes it's nice not to worry about them, you know?
And I'll be the first to admit that I'm NOT a newborn person. At all. My mother loooooooves newborns, and so does one of my best friends, who regularly talks about how she kinda misses her 2 year old being so tiny. Me? Not so much.
Don't get me wrong, I loved them, but I don't miss that age one bit. It's such a scary time and they're so little and delicate and cry at the slightest provocation and are floppy and kind of just like little blobs that don't really respond to you very much (not to mention how hormonal and sleep deprived *I* was). I can see how I'll miss them at this age, which is tons of fun, but not as newborns. People keep telling me I'll change my mind, but I know I absolutely won't. I'm just not a newborn baby person. That's my confession for today. 
This discussion has been closed.
Re: *** MrsNJSwimmer ***
I know, it's really true, but some people make you feel HORRIBLE about not wanting to be around your newborn! I mean, you know you love them to pieces, but it's so hard being judged by others, esp when you are in that hormonal and emotional state!
I remember (about 8 yrs ago now?) going to a friend's house about 2 wks after her 1st baby was born. She needed to get out so she wanted to take the dog for a walk, so she left me w/ her sleeping 2 wk old - I sat down on the couch and put out my arms like I did when I was 12 yrs old and wanted to hold a baby - I had NO idea what I was doing! So she placed her daughter in my arms and went out with the dog. I literally watched her breathe, basically holding MY breath, hoping she would be ok the 20 or so minutes that I watched her!
I hated when people at work would bring in babies b/c they just scared me - like you said, so delicate and floppy, etc.
Now I'm not so afraid of them, since I've been through one of my own, and I'm also more sensitive about other mom's reactions when you touch a newborn's face or something like that. I'd like to think I"m a more sensitive baby-looker now
and I'm definitely more sensitive to new moms!
I think it's kind of weird that it's OK for parents to say they don't like toddler phases, or teenage phases, but for some reason you're a horrible person if you don't like the newborn phase. Maybe it's because they're SO helpless and needy at that age?
I tend to not tell many people because I invariably get THAT look - the "WTF is wrong with you???" look. And then I try to explain that it doesn't mean I don't live my kids more than anything else on earth, and I did from the day they were born (and maybe even before), but it doesn't mean I have to love every single growth phase they go through, you know?
I do agree that having newborns of my own has made me more sensitive to new moms. Really, having kids in general has done that. When I used to hear a baby crying in a grocery store, I'd think, "Ugh, can't they make that kid be quiet? Or just keep it at home?" (Yes, I was that person.) Now all I can think is, "Oh that poor mom...she must be so stressed and embarrassed right now! I hope her LO settles for her soon!"