New Baby, New Baby Smell

My baby niece was born the other day after quite the ordeal, and my sister came out of it a bit ruffled but completely transformed into a mom.  I am so happy for her and my brother-in-law for I know they are going to make wonderful, loving parents.  I couldn't get to the hospital fast enough to see her, and I'll be honest and say I was a bit salty that just about everyone had gotten their hands on that tiny baby before me, but as soon as I got her in my hands, I snuffled her up just like one of my own.  Of course, none of my children were this tiny when they were born.

And so began the instinctive bum patting and the swaying from side to side that I missed so much.  Then came the obsessive baby smelling and baby talking and more baby smelling and more talking silly and taking pictures and showing her off (although I have no idea who I was showing the pictures off to since everyone had already seen her).  Yes, I digress as usual.  I realized I was ignoring my sister, and when I looked at her I could tell she couldn't have cared less.  The poor thing was exhausted and my heart went out to her.  I also thought to myself that I did not envy this girl at all.  I thought about my own first couple of weeks with my son and how I could barely form complete sentences, let alone put two feet in front of the other.  I thought about how I made countless trips from my bed to the crib in the middle of the night and how I did, in fact, nod off on my feet quite literally a couple of times before I realized, in my sleep-deprived haze, that it would be best if I just sat down in the rocking chair.  I thought about the tears I shed when I couldn't figure out what the cries meant or if he was getting enough to eat. 

The list goes on and on of all the things belonging to a new mom that I could share, but I won't because I really don't want to scare her if she reads this, and I know that since there is no handbook to guide us and we just go on maternal instinct, that my sister will be fine.  She is more than capable of handling this journey, and on the days she thinks she's doing it all wrong, I know that there will be those moments for her that tell her she's doing it all right.  She's so got this.  Hell, if I haven't screwed my kids up too bad so far, she's got this in the bag.

*cheers Auntie Jess*