Nigel enjoys it when I kiss him

Nigel enjoys it when we kiss his cheeks. We know because his eyes glisten! Though Nigel has a full time nanny, I still feed, bathe, change and play with him myself. Having a helper just gives me time to do other things. When I get home and Nigel is with his nanny, he acts up all of a sudden. And when I get him, he would wiggle his body and squeal in excitement. From that I know he missed me and looks forward to spending time with mommy.

Young and naive as they are, I think babies can tell if they are being loved or neglected. After all, as Erikson’s theory says babies from 0-18 months can develop either trust or mistrust. When they feel cared for and loved they develop a sense of security. They learn that the world is a safe place to be in.

When infants are cherished, they are more receptive to learn things (and boy, do they have a lot to learn or what). They can be provided with all the educational age appropriate toys and videos but if there’s no adult present who can hold, comfort , cuddle and give unconditional love I don’t think the mind would learn as easily. It would be too preoccupied thinking about the discomfort they felt when a diaper wasn’t changed immediately or when he was not fed when hungry. He would think “ The next time I get hungry, will someone feed me? Waaaah” Well, these are just my musings. But I bet there are studies showing there’s a relation between getting unconditional love and learning on babies.

We hired a nanny about a month ago. Being a mom is very fulfilling but it’s a lot of hard work. There were times when I got so overwhelmed and very tired that I just wanted the day to end so I can finally rest. Butch hated to see me like that so he made a decision to get help. My day is divided into two. In the mornings, I tend to Nigel and in the afternoons, I let the nanny do her job. Of course at night after bath time, I’m the one who puts him to bed.

I still want to be tired and dirty for my son. He’s such a wonderful and beautiful baby. And being a hands on mommy to him is the only way to get to know him and enjoy his uniqueness. Just this morning during bath time, I discovered Nigel gets tickled when I pour water on his neck. He makes this cute giggly sound that’s really a delight to hear! You can only witness precious moments like these when you really spend time with your little ones.

Hug your kids often and really spend time with them! Believe me, you will enjoy it.

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