Frightful Moments

During our baby princess' first few days at home, I should say I felt that I was totally dumb because there were times when I would just stare at her tiny body (with a funny looking thing dangling at the middle of her frog-belly)as if studying her fragile body so intently before starting anything...from a simple undressing to a more difficult bathing a small, slippery & wiggling small creature! I was really scared to hold her. I realized that the feeling was entirely different when I was handling babies in the nursery during my medical clerkship & internship days. I had more courage then...while this time, with my own baby, I was filled with terror...and to my husband's amazement, I became panicky!

Since she still needed a sponge bath until her umbilical stump (that funny looking "ornament" on her belly) fell off, I thought it was still a lot easier to do than giving a real bath...but still I couldn't decide which baby product should I use...should I use oil?...a no rinse cleanser? I knew that I should use alcohol free products because baby's skin is really very sensitive. Sans harsh chemicals should only touch my baby's skin. My husband was laughing at me because I bought several bottles of baby bath products of different brands and because of this, I couldn't decide on which one to use first!!! really tough!

So came the first day of "tribulation"...she had her first bath on her 10th day of life. Would you believe that I tested the water's temperature for about 5x before I finally put her in her tub. I was really scared at first & I needed my Mom's help because my baby kept on sliding down her baby bath tub. I forgot to put a towel because I thought that the coarse pad at the center of the tub would hold her in place... but I was wrong & it was late to take her out( we didn't want her to get cold because she was wet already ).It wasn't easy...she cried through the whole bath! Mom had to hold her still while I gave her bath. I believe it really took practice to give me more confidence in doing this tough job...but I enjoyed it so much!!!!