Holding Your Baby For the First Time

Today is Finer Things Friday over at Amy's and that means it's a great time to talk about a little moment that has a big impact...

Holding your baby for the very first time.

Now, I don't care who you are... your gender, race, religion, or profession- none of it matters... that's a huge moment. Fortunately, it's a moment that usually takes place very soon after the birth. Such was the case with my first-born. Shortly after the cry of "It's a boy!" rang out, my little red-faced newborn was placed into my arms.

My vanity almost kept me from posting my "right after labor" shot...

I was the first to get to hold my daughter too. But she was nearly a month old. And still weighed less than 800 grams (454 grams= 1 lb... stick around, you'll learn the metric system yet if you hang around me long enough ;)) I held her against my bare chest with tubes and wires dangling all around us. I could barely see her tiny face from that position and there was no way in the world I'd be able to nurse her for a very long while.

But you know what?

It was still an incredibly powerful moment. Maybe even a little more so just because of how long I had had to wait. I wish I had a photo of that time to share with you, but I don't. The closest I can come is this shot of me holding her in a blanket which didn't occur until she was over 2 months old...

Isn't she TINY? Not yet four pounds here...

Holding a baby at any time is a Finer Thing in Life... holding your baby for the very first time is one the very finest.