The infamous second night in the hospital! Haven’t you heard about it? You’re in for a real ride—just wait and see.
You’re patting your first baby bump, but you don’t know a thing about that second night? Expect the worst! That way, you won’t be disappointed! You know, staying awake because your baby isn’t comfortable anywhere and all he wants to do is cry his heart out.
The start of your new life as a mom!
The first few hours spent with this little one will be idyllic—or almost… The first glances, their tiny nose, their tiny nails, their scent, their first feeding, and so on.
I’ve had three beautiful children. And three “crap” second nights in the hospital. With my first, no one had told me about the night of horror.
To explain my sobbing and my confusion about what was happening with my little one, a nurse on duty told me that my baby had just realized he’d left my womb. His way of reacting was to cry, because he needed comfort and to recreate the warmth that my womb had provided him for the past nine months. He had just gone through something difficult: his birth.
When she left the room, my boyfriend turned to me with the same look that was on my face—the look that seemed to say, “Did you really hear the same thing I did?” I may not have read the Bible on babies, but this is something else! He realized he’d left my womb!
Another nurse I told this story to said to me, “My God, does she remember what it was like when she came out of her mother’s womb, or did she write a thesis on the subject? No way—he’s crying because he’s crying. It’ll pass! She’s really weird!” You think so?
I did come up with a non-scientific theory, though.
Maybe it’s because he has excess fluid he needs to get rid of before going home! Or maybe he’s testing our parenting skills—to see if we can hear a baby cry.
Hang in there—they won’t all be like this. We always end up getting over it. The proof? We’re doing it all over again!