Dear Mummy, I can’t wait to meet you, but I’d like you to know …
Dear Mummy,
I don’t know that your name is ‘Mummy’ yet, or even that we are different people for that matter. But right now your love envelopes me. I am literally swimming in it as I float around in your womb like an astronaut!
I don’t know you yet, but at the same time I also really, really do. As in, I don’t know who you are as a person, because you know … I’m a foetus, but I do feel the importance of you. Right now you are me, and I am you. We are one.
But soon, I will decide that it’s time for us to meet ‘in person’. Before that day though (and what a day that will be. Are you excited? Scared?), I’d like you to know a few things.
You are my all
Right now as you nourish me with your body and a growing love for me (that will soon knock you for six when I am here in your arms), I am dependant on you alone for my survival. That’s not to stress you out (I will continue to grow if you have the odd coffee, don’t worry!), it’s so you know just how vital you are to me. You are giving me everything I need and want right now. And I am thriving in here because of YOU.
So thanks, mummy. You are giving me a great start in life. You are already nailing this mum thing!
But I’m also sorry
I’m sorry for the nausea, the leg cramps, the insomnia when you so desperately need to sleep, for pushing on your bladder, so you have to pee every five minutes, the heartburn (ouch!), the itchy belly and stretch marks, the weird pregnancy dreams and for making you cry all the time – even during Home and Away. But mummy, please know that all of this is fueling my growth. It isn’t easy on you, but I promise it will be worthwhile. Just you wait!
Read more about what’s to come:
- The ultimate guide to surviving the first week at home with a newborn
- 9 life lessons your newborn is secretly teaching you
- 7 newborn behaviours you DON’T need to worry about
Please help me to transition into this life
When I face the rude shock of being born and suddenly feel the cool air on my naked body, I will wail for you. When you instinctively place me on your bare chest and soothe me with your familiar voice (that I have loved listening to for nine months), I will be comforted. When I hear Daddy’s voice too, because I have also enjoyed hearing him in utero, I will start to breath easier. All I need is you guys.
Being outside of you will be hard for me, at first. I will crave the warmth and motion of my cosy womb-home. I will want you both to cuddle and rock me; in fact, I won’t ever want you to stop. This will remind me of the world I have known up until now, and I can’t tell you (because I really can’t) how soothing that will be for me.
I also won’t know what night or day is. I will continue to sleep when I need to. I will be hungry and want to feed a lot, sometimes every two hours. Please just go with my flow. I won’t always be so needy.
I will reward you for your efforts, including the sleep deprivation that I will cause you. I will be the most beautiful thing you have ever laid eyes on (just you wait to feel my silky hair and stroke my soft newborn skin!). One day I will smile at you and you and I will feel a new understanding. Our relationship will blossom, and I will be the gift that keeps on giving, as we bond and get to know each other.
Please don’t be scared
Mummy, I know you are a bit scared. I feel your emotions (we are one right now, remember), but you don’t have to be. You are already all the mum that I need. You’ve got this because no one else could be MY Mummy but you (or MY Daddy for that matter). There is no one better for the job. So Mummy, please just trust your gut when I am confusing you or sending you around the twist. And if you don’t know what to do, just hold me: some days that’s all I will want from you.
I love you, and soon I will understand just how much.
Your baby on the way x
