Slow down and connect back to basics

It has been 3 weeks since Tosia arrived. She is amazing and thanks to her we have slowed down and we are connecting back to basics. I would like to share some interesting observations and insights from the last 3 weeks 🙂

Being born:

Often after birth babies lose weight and until approximately 7-8 days after labor or until they regain their birth weight they cannot regulate the body’s temperature themselves, the temperature has to be regulated for them. Often babies need to be heated up and this can be done by feeding the baby,  skin to skin contact, or using hot water bottles. Tosia didn’t lose too much weight, it was only about 4% of her body’ weight up to day 2 and she did start to gain a few grams each day from day 3. During the first days and nights we were busy with managing her temperature. There are a few thoughts which came to me, things we as adults can learn from the first days of little babies.

FOOD IS LIFE

Have you ever seen a hungry baby? 

Eating is the first and the most important thing for babies, without food babies can’t survive. When a baby is hungry, it often gives a sign by crying. Babies can cry very hard and they show incredible strength for such small beings. When the baby is low in weight or low in temperature it has no energy to cry. Its body saves energy for the actions of the most important organs to survive. As babies we stand on the brink of life and death. Food is life.

It is not different with us adults, when our stomach is full we can function well and we can look further to fulfill our goals. We can focus on the development of ideas and growth.

When the stomach is empty, we are in survival mode, just like for a baby.

Taking in – receiving 

Looking at how a baby drinks is very interesting too. It is beautiful to see how the baby looks for food. Instinctively a baby knows exactly where to find food. When the baby is hungry it eats very greedily, when the baby gets food at the right time it drinks, enjoying every sip of milk.

Here is a first lesson we can learn from babies: Don’t hurry up, follow your instinct, follow your inner feelings, be present and enjoy every sip of your life.

Giving – Offering – Food is love

The moment of feeding a baby is a moment of noble and true peace. It is a beautiful moment of connection, a moment of sharing, a moment of love. When we look into nature, we see that, for example, from one pumpkin’s seed we get a new pumpkin, which has many seeds inside – so we can have many more pumpkins. Food is Love and Love is sharing.

Here is a second lesson we can learn from babies: Feed yourself and others with the best quality “food”.

HUGS ARE THE UNIVERSAL MEDICINE

Skin-to-skin

Tosia was dried and laid directly on my bare chest after birth, we both were covered in a warm blanket and left for an hour. It felt amazing to hold her on my chest. I could feel heat being generated, and how comfortable and calm Tosia became. It’s a practice known as ‘kangaroo care’ which helps parents bond with their baby and supports better physical and developmental outcomes for the baby.

Here is a third lesson we can learn from babies: Hugs are the universal medicine. Hug as much as you can. Choose family members, your significant other, children, trees and yourself. Hugging can be a powerful way to communicate a feeling to someone else. Sometimes there are no words that can get across the message that you want to share and yet a simple hug can convey it all. There are many health benefits to hugging. Hugs may protect us against illness, they may boost our heart health, they can make you happier, they can reduce your fears. Hugs may help reduce your pain.

Virginia Satir once said “We need four hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth.”

FEELING WARMTH

In the night, in addition to skin-to-skin contact we used hot water bottles in Tosia’s bed to manage temperature again. We as adults also use hot water bottles to reduce back pain or to improve circulation. Warmth in general gives us a relaxed feeling, which is why we like warm-weather months. I am very happy that the spring is in the air and I hope we can all reconnect back to nature.

As the season is changing, it is the best moment to detox, to clean up the body after autumn’s and winter’s rich foods. Nourish the body by choosing green vegetables and nourish your mind and soul by joining our weekly classes 🙂 There is so much love and compassion in us when we look at a newborn baby. Our focus in teaching for the coming months is to strengthen the Wood element, to work on kindness and compassion.