I never used to like babies. In fact, when I was 18, you could have heard me say “they cry, they smell, they rarely smile (the really newborn ones, anyway) – what’s to like?”
I’d see a baby, shudder and walk away.
But a year or so later, I found myself in the same room as a sleeping baby and thought the peaceful little thing in the corner might not be so bad.
A few months later, my boss brought his baby to our work Christmas party and I actually laughed when watching (from a distance) some of the guys play hide-and-seek with her. I may have even commented about how cute she was.
Another year goes by and my other boss brings his baby into the office. I look in the pram and must have adoration on my face because he tried to give the bundle of joy to me to hold. Quickly, I backed away… causing much offence to the parents in the process! What’s that saying about change and progress … ‘one step forward, two steps backward’?
Eventually I held a baby. And it was actually ok. It didn’t cry, fart or vomit.
Then I held another, different baby. I almost liked it.
Liking babies seems to be inevitable. As much as I tried/try to fight it, liking babies seems to be programmed into our very being.
Is there any research on this? What do you reckon: are we programmed to like babies?
Are you trying to tell us something?
I think babies take us out of ourselves in an interesting way. They force us to recognise life beyond our own understanding. And because they are otherwise helpless, they challenge us empathically.
In a world where everything “out there” screams for our attention, make us “look here”.
I remember a friend, years ago, had a baby. As a busy professional we wondered how she would deal with the new arrival. How would she fit it into her life. And when we walked into the room, she looked up and smiled and said – “I’m really good at something”. And she was.
haha I’m surprisingly not the clucky one in my relationship
That’s true, it reminds me of a saying ‘No matter how old you are or how badass you think you are, if a toddler hands you their ringing toy phone, you answer it’! Babies and children seem to equalize us or make us forget about everything else in the world.
Thanks for sharing that story too – makes me feel warm and fuzzy