Practice makes perfect

As the title implies I got to look after a baby last night. Well ‘look after’ might be a bit strong. I had the opportunity to hold a baby for about three hours.

We were visiting a friend of the family for her birthday and her latest grandchild is only 3 months old. As shyness is not something I thrive on I asked the young ones’ parents if I could hold him as soon as we stepped in the door. They quickly agreed and I was beaming. My fist chance to practice getting a baby to sleep since we found out we were pregnant.

My mom immediately wanted my fiancé to hold the baby as well as there is an old wives tale about a baby being able to determine the sex off the unborn child by crying if the expectant mother is carrying a baby of the same sex. As our 16 week sonar did not reveal the sex of our baby everyone is going crazy with curiosity. Even though I do not believe in nonsensical methods like the one mentioned above I agreed and true to form the baby did not cry but was also not overly happy which supposedly means that it can still be either a boy or a girl.

After the fruitless exercise I retook control of Bjorn, yes named after Bjorn Borg the tennis player, and started lightly bouncing him up and down to induce sleep. The little fellow gave about three big yaws and a couple of minutes later he was fast asleep and would remain so for the rest of the night.

Even though I have had previous experience with babies, it gave me a sense of “We are ready for this” when I sat down with Bjorn sleeping soundly on my chest. I felt more ready than ever to become a father and I now am more excited than I could describe with my limited vocabulary.

I can think it is important for expectant parents to not be afraid to hold a baby. When you are with friends with little ones, don’t be afraid to ask to hold the baby and when they agree be gentle but firm with the baby. In my experience it has always been better not to treat a baby like a breakable piece of china but hold a firm grip on the child and don’t be afraid to move them every now and then if their weight is shifting.

I am off course not saying you should run around asking every person with a baby if you can hold onto their child, but if the opportunity arises don’t be shy. As they, whoever they may be, say, “Practise makes perfect”