While all focus on the newborn baby, a grandmother focuses on the new mom
Pregnancy is usually a beautiful period for every expectant woman, both for that life that grows in her womb and for the prospect of having the baby soon in her arms, and because she, as a soon to be mother, becomes the object of attention and care of everyone --- her companion, relatives, friends and even strangers who admire her growing belly.
Yet, after the baby's birth, everything changes because suddenly all the enthusiastic attention is focused on the newborn baby, almost as if the new mother has lost much of her previous attractiveness.
That might be true for everyone, or almost --- because certainly there will still be one set of eyes always focused on her, namely, those of her mother.
via naranxadul.com
Becoming a mother, no matter how wonderful it is, is not at all simple because when you finally can look at and hold your baby, starts the slow - but intense - transformation of becoming a mother.
Starting the process of breastfeeding, the baby who cries often without understanding why, the sleepless nights, mountains of clothes to be washed and diapers to change: in all this, the new mother cannot find time for herself, even taking a shower becomes difficult, all with a body still exhausted by childbirth that is recovering slowly and with a thousand pains and discomforts. Although the new father can support his partner, often the fundamental help comes from her own mother: the neo-grandmother, who is enthusiastic about her grandchild but also worries about her daughter.
She has gone through that experience and knows how exhausting the period after childbirth can be when the mother's body changes -- again -- but this time much more quickly. There is also breastfeeding anxiety - "Will the baby eat enough?" - and worry about the baby's smallest sneeze; and the classic sense of inadequacy that is always ready to assail the new mother.
A grandmother knows exactly what needs to be done. Therefore, she stays with her daughter who is becoming a mother, assists her in her hormonal crises, and helps her. She prepares food for her daughter -- especially her favorite dishes - and a hot bath, so that her daughter can recover at least a little; keeps the baby with her, letting her daughter sleep, even for half an hour, an hour; provides the creams and useful tips to alleviate and overcome the various annoyances of the moment.
A neo-grandmother knows that it is a difficult moment, but she also knows that she did it during her time and that her daughter can also do it, and it is this confidence, above all, that she tries to pass on to her daughter, who once as a newborn she cared for and now she watches as her daughter cares for her own newborn baby.
All new mothers in fact, after giving birth need the help of another woman at her side, a woman who has already lived through this complicated experience and who can understand and help her. Be it a mother, a sister, a friend, an aunt, a sister-in-law, a mother-in-law, or a neighbor: the important thing is to find that understanding that helps her to recover serenity and faith in her ability to become a mother while still remaining herself.
