I don't have much time to write since we're currently on vacation, I've been busy working with my brother on my new website (still under construction...stay tuned for the big reveal), and we will be gone camping for the next couple of days, but I thought I'd re-post "First baths, etc." because I think it's on to something and some of my new readers might not have seen it yet. Since writing the original post, I found a site that claims, "There are immediate and detectible [sic] changes in the hormone levels of mother and child when they smell each other." I really wish they gave a reference, because I'd love to take a peek at more research on this subject. Anyway... enjoy!
I've got this new theory. I'm not going to suggest that I'm the first to come up with this. It's only "new" in the sense that it's "new" to me. I'd love to see it tested with some research on mothers and infants.
A few weeks ago I got thinking about the profoundly intense bond I developed with my son following my home birth. I had never experienced anything like it. Sure, I developed a deep love for my daughters, but it took much longer and came far less naturally. I have come up with many possible explanations for the intensity of the bond with my son...
Read the rest of this post over at my new website!
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I love this! I was adamant about neither of my boys being bathed until a week or more after their births, and I never tried to describe to anyone just how happy the smell of them made me feel, perhaps because it was simply too prima--and thus inarticulable. But you did it, and I thank you!
This is a great post. The only thing on my birth plan that anyone at the hospital asked me about was how I said that I didn't want my son bathed until we went home. I did let them wash his hair, but I loved how the dried vernix was so soft and creamy on his skin. My daughter was bathed within a few hours of her birth. She has eczema, so I really wish she could have had the benefit of having that awesome natural moisturizer.
I agree with your theory! I gave birth at home 5 months ago and didn't bathe bub for a few days. Last month I defrosted the placenta to plant beneath a rose bush and when I smelled it, it almost brought me to my knees with the emotion the smell evoked. My husband thought I was SO weird :)
Thank you for posting this. I have a different experience to share, but I will add it none the less.
Our first daughter was stillborn. My labour was induced, and it was very long and tiresome, not to mention traumatic. When she was born, her skin was far too fragile to bathe her and they simply did their best to clean her, measure, weigh her and pass her to my husband and I.
I'll never forget the smell of her. It was a very sweet, pure smell. Every once in awhile when I miss her most, I pull out her clothes and her blankets that she was first put into and I can still catch a faint whiff of it. The smell invokes all of the very bittersweet memories I have of her and the very short time we got to spend with her.
When my boys were born, both of them were bathed within 24 hours of birth, but I do not recall that same smell with them.
Thanks for sharing your insight.
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So true, so true... As weird as it sounds, my girls loved picking dried vernix from my baby's hair while they loved on her the morning after she was born. Seriously, it was like a bonding time for them as well.
Loving this post! I'm pregnant and I'm going to give birth at home.
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