Monday, March 3, 2008

Babymoons

Wow. I last wrote a blog on January 15. Then along came a baby (not mine, a client's) in a long, tiring, amazing birth and I think I decided to take a babymoon.

A babymoon? What's that? A babymoon is kind of like a honeymoon, for the family that has just welcomed its newest member. Instead of having the world visit baby, or baby going out into the world, some families are choosing a quiet time after their baby is born, to relax and slowly ease into baby life.

How long is a babymoon? It could be two weeks, or four weeks, or whatever feels best to the family involved. Generally by staying home, a mom can recuperate faster, breastfeeding can become well established and families can find new routines and rhythms that work successfully for them.

In order to have a blissful babymoon, there are some things you might want to consider. While mom may really enjoy the quiet, she will need some adult interaction with friends and family from time to time, for a few hours here and there. She will most definitely need help with her housework and have meals cooked for her (and the rest of her family). Everyone needs to remember that mom is not in the position to be a hostess. Instead, she needs everyone around her to treat her and baby as a pair. If she is well looked after, then baby will be well looked after. She needs to sleep when her baby sleeps. She needs you to attend to her needs and allow her to attend to her baby's needs, no matter how wonderful you may feel holding her baby, baby needs first and foremost a healthy mother!

Sadly, when you Google "babymoon" now, all you see is vacation and resort packages. It seems that the travel industry has caught on and they are offering all kinds of ways to spend even more money when your baby comes. Nothing wrong with travelling to a resort, but I advocate moms and dads enjoying peace and saving their money, perhaps splurging on extra care for themselves (how about a postnatal massage? having nutritious food cooked and delivered? laundry services? watching all the seasons of TV shows you enjoyed in high school? half days of childcare for the older children?)

A babymoon is a great way to get your family off to the right start. Sometimes we all need a little getaway from the world. Your baby needs an easy transition into the world, so take him or her home and get to know each other. You will enjoy yourselves, that's a promise.

3 comments:

Chantelle said...

I couldn't agree more! One thing that was lacking after the birth of my son was peace. So many people filing in to meet the new baby...it was overwhelming and the last thing I wanted! Next time I am putting a ban on visitors for the first week. Grandparents being the exception. :)

Lisa Leblanc said...

This is the first that I heard the term Babymoon, but a think it is wonderful and neccesary that families slow down and reajust to having a new person added to the home. Mothers and families wait months to meet their babies, and if we don't make a deliberate decision to take a break from everyday life and go on baby time (even a few days is better than nothing) we risk missing out on one of the most special rewards of life, The Babymoon.

Amy Gow said...

Chantelle,

You are so right about limiting visitors. Sadly in my practice and in life in general I see many moms struggling with breastfeeding and low energy in the early days due to too many visitors. Breastfeeding can be awkward to learn and involves lots of skin showing, plus needs lots of mommy and baby time skin to skin. When there are too many visitors, baby's feeding cues go unnoticed and everyone wants to hold the baby. Not a great way to get started.

You, like so many of us, have learned to through experience!