What Were Your Thoughts When You First Held Your New Baby?

What a fun question. It's cool that you posted this.
The first time I held her, I immediately noticed her hands - Very large, long fingers, fantastic span - and thought "Piano or cello?"

As I sat in the tub,and gently brought my son up from under the water to the new air environment that awaited him on my chest, I was so grateful as he looked up at me. I was thankful for my whole birth team of support. So proud of myself that I had the birth I dreamed of, and couldn't believe it at the same time. I was so glad that I had my safe homebirth. I didn't have to go anywhere and could sleep in my own bed with my brand new baby.
L. M

Oh my God, I did it, she's MINE!

Followed shortly by... The nurse is leaving me ALONE with her???

I will find out in January!!! I love this question because it makes my wait even more exciting!!

After 36 hrs labor (with 1 1/2 hrs pushing), my 9 lbs 1 1/2 oz son was out and 3 nurses were holding him on my tummy while rubbing him with towels. I was thinking I was so glad he wasn't one of those funny looking babies (which I would have thought no matter what he looked like). At that first face to face meeting I also had a moment of fear as I thought I had this helpless child and I was the main one responsible for him while my husband was cheering and trying not to watch all the after birth (looks like raw liver) and stitching up activities. I have only the one son, and after the first 3 weeks or so (I don't know for sure - we were all severely sleep deprived at this point) I was wondering if I would ever do ANYTHING right when finally he was lightly asleep on my chest in a clean diaper, with a tummy full of breast milk and this perfect moment of contentment came - I knew this was going to work and we would all be just fine. For me, Mommy confidence didn't happen over night, but I got there eventually.

With my first, my first thought was how small he was (although he was bigger than average at 8lbs. 12.4oz) and what a big, scary world it is out there. They're so helpless and they need us so badly. Which he proved by immediately demanding to be fed. lol! Actually, once I got a good look at his face and before I nursed him, he was sucking his lower lip into his mouth and my initial horrified thought was that he was born with a defect and would need cosmetic surgery. I soon realized that he was just hungry and was sucking on his lip for lack of anything else to suck on. :) We fixed that right away. I should have known....my boys have been freaking me out on a regular basis ever since!

OOOOORRRRRAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! SEMPER FI!

Thank you both for your service and sacrifices to our country!! I know it hasn't been easy - especially as a USMC wife!!

When I first held my son - Gregory - for the first time, I knew that God had answered my prayersand I was truly blessed!!

When I held my second son - Nicholas - I knew that God was trusting me with two beautiful angels and I could only be thankful for the gifts I had been bestowed!!

Now - do they drive me insane? YES!! Do I love them with every fiber of my being? YES!!!

God Bless!!

Cheryl

My first thought wasn't all rainbows and unicorns - it was "OMG that actually came out of me?!?!" Then as I was leaving the hospital I thought "I can't believe they're just letting me take a little person home with me" Basically, the whole thing was totally surreal. Now I have 2 and hoping for a 3rd. It truly is a beautiful thing :)

I remember thinking 2 things. First, I couldn't believe that he was mine and that I am blessed to be his mother, and, second, I was happy to not have to push anymore because I had been pushing for 3 hours.

All during labor I thought, "I'm NEVER doing this again." The minute I held her, I thought, "That wasn't so bad. I can do this again." And I did, 3 more times. And the first? Has 5 of her own, now.

I couldn't believe that he was actually mine and I was really a mommy!

That it was unreal. I had twins, one vaginal and one emergency c-section. During the c-section, I went preclampsic and they had to knock me out to stitch me back up and kept me under for a couple extra hours to help regulate my blood pressure. I never saw the boys as they were delivered - everything happened so fast, so it wasn't until 3 am the next morning (they were born 9:15 ish the night before) that I got to see them finally.

I was amazed at how small they were but it wasn't that aaahh moment. I just thought that it seemed so unreal that I could almost go home without them and it wouldn't be odd. I should also say that I was on some mega pain medication and I still had the epidural pump hooked up so I wasn't at my clearest. We named them kind of matter of factly since we had names we just had to 'assign' who was who. After I got more sleep and on less drugs, I began to feel all the warm feelings that I knew would happen. The beginning was just unreal, ours wasn't a traditional birth, but in no time did I just want to stare at them and marvel at their beauty.

:-)
Julie

A little late in responding, but I have to answer this. We met our daughter when she was 4 weeks old. Her temporary mom placed her in my arms. Wow, she was asleep, and beautiful. She opened her eyes and looked up. I felt an immediate peace, and an answer to long awaiting prayers (seven years). Thankful and grateful I am to be a mom of a a wonderful, energetic, and smart two year old.

"Oh, so THAT'S what you look like!"

SAHM of 2.

What a lovely question!
My first baby was born in Bolivia. They are a bit traditional there. My husband was whisked away to the waiting room as I was whisked into the delivery room and as soon as my baby was born she was whisked away to another room! I was left calling out "is she ok?" About an hour or so later I was stitched up and sleeping; exhausted (it was about 5am by then) and a nurse came in and plonked my baby on my belly and left. I looked down and she was all dressed in yellow; a little coat, pants, bonnet and mittens and she was fast asleep with her eyes screwed really tightly closed and I thought she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life!
I tell her that story every year on her birthday.
L. P
www.YouCanWorkFromYourHome.com

Dear L.,
when I held my first baby. Wow. I was scared to DEATH! I was like if there is a God why would He trust me with something so beautiful and precious and so small? I could not believe how totally perfect she was and that she looked like a cabbage patch doll! My heart grew so BIG that day( like the grinch when turns good in the movie!) Fun question!
Pammy

My first thought was, "Oh, you're so slimy, but I don't care!" Then I commented on how she looked just like my husband. Then I got extremely weak, and they had to take her away from me...I was bleeding very bad and had to be rushed to the O.R. to remove the placenta. They let me see her after I came out of recovery for just a couple of minutes. So, my first time experience holding her was scary...it could have been my last time holding her. I didn't get to nurse her or see my family's reaction. But to give birth and hold that tiny thing in your arms is such an amazing thing to experience. Words cannot describe.

I read all the responses to your question and felt extremely jealous. My experience was full of fear...I was so scared. I was only 23 and her father was not around. I remember coming home and just starring at her all alone not knowing what to do next. But, she is 4 now and I completed my Bachelors degree( I was in school when I was pregnant and never had to take a semester off because she was born during the summer) and am now working on my Masters. I now have my dream job and she was the inspiration for it. It was a long road, but she gave me faith and motivation and now I take on every challenge without a problem. I look forward to having a less fearful experience next time...but I guess I'd have to find the right guy first..lol I am still raising her solely and it is so tough, but due to my circumstances, I have become amazingly strong.Looking back at that day, I never would have imagined how far her and I would come. I hope my experience will be able to teach her that there is nothing in life that you can't handle. Also I would like to explain to her the importance of abstinence.. : ) But God works in mysterious ways and everything happens for a reason. And I must add how thankful I am for amazing daycare providers, they made my dreams possible and provide a safe loving environment for my daughter to learn and grow. God Bless and thank you for your service : )

I felt tremendous love and joy. I was extremely thankful to God for a healthy baby. I felt it a huge privelege to be a mother. I loved breastfeeding.I knew God kept His promise to me from Psalm 113:9 He made me the joyous mother of children. AF

I felt prepared for everything...even during labor, I was on top of all I was going through until I reached that exact point of when the baby was actually coming out! At that moment, I was like "oh my God...I'm about to give birth - YIKES!!!". Then...when I learned that the baby was a male, one of the first thoughts that I had was how much of a fortune I was going to have to spend on sneakers/tennis shoes for him!!!