Our babies are born free of bias, no shame, no guilt.
There is no expectation or judgement.
They are born an open book full of pages and it is together with you and those close by that you begin to co create and fill the book with stories and narratives.
With love as a starting point, we can begin to provide our babies with a foundation that is strong and powerful. When we respond to our babies with love through responsiveness, nurturing touch, eye contact, talking and playing with them they are learning about trust and connection and the beginnings of an understanding of their place in the world.
Love is a powerful force.
Providing unconditional love shapes our babies sense of identity and self-worth.
Parenting is of course challenging especially if your baby is unsettled or has underlying medical problems. It is important that you allow space and permission to feel all the feelings. It is ok to feel anxious and frustrated and uncertain. There may be times where you feel isolated and perhaps unsupported.
Or perhaps you are bringing to your parenting journey memories from your own childhood which may not have been so happy.
Parenting is a journey and there will be highs and lows. So instead of judging and comparing and being hard on yourself give yourself some love and self-compassion. Embrace the chaos of parenthood and choose love.
Practicing self love and compassion then gives you greater capacity to surround your infant with kindness, love and compassion. If your baby knows love and they are raised to love this then goes out into the world and then to their children. A child raised with a strong foundation of love are more likely to make a positive contribution to their community and society in general.