When Everything is New Except You

Thoughts on world breastfeeding week 2023

1 minute read

She notices these shadows on the wall lately. She’ll stop drinking her milk and stare and smile. I turned to look tonight to see what she sees and I too had to smile. When you’re in it you don’t notice the closeness and the warmth every time. It’s just your job, it’s what you have to do. But when I saw what she sees—strong and soft arms around her holding her secure, her mother’s face tilted towards hers, and the moving shadows of her own little feet kicking my chin… I saw my job in a fresh light. I saw myself doing the only thing she knows she can count on right now. Everything is new for her every day. New places, new people all around, new foods and even new abilities. Her body doesn’t even do the same things from day to day right now. But when I pick her up and we settle into this spot, she knows exactly what is going to happen and she knows it’ll be all about her for just this moment. It’s been the same since her first hour on earth. And she’ll feel safe, happy, loved, and comforted. And it’s the least I could do for her. To see her smile and hold her head in my hand as she smiles up and holds my face with her tiny fingers, I know this is the most important job I could ever do