NUK Magazine 60 Years of Inspiration

30 An inspiring life begins… tHe FIRst eYe cOntAct It’s been more than half a year since that unbelievable day. And how much our life has changed since your arrival. the first moment with you when the midwife laid you on my stomach was one of the most intense in my life up to then. I was exhilarated with hormones, and you gave me this angry look – no wonder after the stressful hours. I was to breastfeed you right away, they said. so I tried to position you, little fellow, so that you could find the right spot. We managed it somehow, and your face uncreased as soon as you began to suck. We learned all the moves we’d need for you while we were in the hospital. Undressing you, changing you, getting you dressed again, and always supporting your head. It wasn’t all that simple. You were so small and seemed so fragile. how happy we were when we left the hospital, heading home with you. And how helpless we felt the time you refused to breastfeed, when you cried and we couldn’t figure out why. It was as if we had lost the op- erating instructions. The midwife helped: Keep calm, these little ones are stable and know what they want. They just can’t explain it. Good thing someone was there to help us in the beginning. We were often uncertain. Plus being tired all the time. did I even change out of my night- gown during those first two weeks with you? But we learned fast. the day came when I knew we could manage without help. I was back in normal clothes, often with a splotch of milk on my shoulder – and had our daily routine under control. I knew exactly what you needed. When you wanted to sleep, when you were hungry, that you would take a little break in the middle of breastfeeding to smile at me (words can’t describe this!), and that without a burp nothing could proceed. We got in shape, were profes- sional athletes when it came to ignoring fatigue, changing nappies in any situation, switching plans. smAll FAReWells life with you was full of small farewells. We were about to move up to the next nappy size, favourite items of clothing for 3–6 months were soon too small, the dark hair you were born with made way for soft blond hair. If only we could stop time and enjoy these small, special moments for a little bit longer. When you snug- gled in so close and looked so incredibly sweet. I wanted to imprint this image on my memory and never ever forget it. We are now back in real life again. the daily routine. I’m back at work in the mornings. sometimes so tired that I’m happy to get a few

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