I don’t do celebration particularly well. When I achieve something, I tend to think along the lines of, “That’s done. What’s next?” But babies are different. Who wouldn’t celebrate the birth of a baby?

Well…me. I’ve written about the birth of my first son, four and a half years ago. It was traumatic and upsetting, and I spent the first six weeks afterward resenting the birth and, by association, him. I was tearful and tired, and I had a baby I didn’t know what to do with. On top of that, I was fighting with my husband because he didn’t know what to do, either. When were we supposed to celebrate?

A New Beginning

But this time, I’m determined things will be different. I want to welcome this new baby into our lives. I want to introduce him to my son and to our home. I want him to know how wanted he was and how loved he already is. And I want to mark the occasion rather than just getting on with things. But how?

We’re not religious, so there isn’t going to be a christening. I’m certainly not planning a party (I’ve got enough to do already, thank you very much). And family and friends are spread out all over the country if not the world, so any sort of physical gathering is out of the question.

A Babymoon

The first thing I want to make sure to do is to have a “babymoon.” I want to spent a couple of days at the very least just cuddling, kissing, smelling, and bonding with my new baby. I don’t particularly want any visitors, but that’s probably unavoidable. I envision me, my husband, our four-year-old, and the baby snuggled up in bed together and getting to know each other slowly and peacefully. (I may be kidding myself here, but a portable DVD player and selection of Disney films might encourage Harry to hang around!)

Baby, Meet Home

The second thing I want to do is to introduce the baby to our home. I read this in Tracy Hogg’s wonderful book, The Baby Whisperer. Take the baby from room to room, and describe things to him. Tell him what each room is for. Show him where he’ll be sleeping and where everyone else sleeps. Let him know it’s his home, too.

Photographic Evidence

Finally, I want to take photos. Lots of photos. Of the baby on his own, with his brother, with me, and with his father. Ten days after our first son was born, we had a professional photo session done, and the resulting framed photo collection is one of my most treasured possessions. I know it’s often the case that a second child is much less photographed than the first (I’ve probably got hundreds of photos of my eldest nephew and dozens of my youngest!), so I want to make sure that our family photographs are updated sooner rather than later.

But most of all, I just want to enjoy things this time around: relax, take it slowly, and celebrate what author Catherine Newman calls “the wild magic of growing a family.”

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