When you become a parent you receive the gift of trust in several ways. The first kind of trust you receive is the trust between your newborn and yourself. Creating a trusting bond between the two of you is an ongoing process throughout your child’s life. Beginning at birth, you build trust with your infant by tending to their cries and meeting all their needs, as they are totally dependent upon you at this time. As your child grows, the trusting bond between the two of you continues to build as you foster your child’s sense of independence. By providing safe environments for your child to explore, you are helping them develop a sense of trust and security in the world around them. From newborn to adult, the gift of trust between you and your child is ever evolving.
The second kind of trust you receive when you become a parent is trust in your instincts. Though it may take some time for parents to feel confident and trust their instincts, you will eventually find yourself following your gut rather than all the baby books you have used to prepare yourself for your new arrival. While some advice in these books is very helpful, you will find yourself following your own personal instincts as you become acquainted with your unique baby’s needs. You will develop your own personal styles of diapering, feeding, cuddling, and interacting with your infant.
In addition, you will find yourself analyzing the environments in which you place your baby. You used to visit your friend’s house worry free, but now that you have a baby you are suddenly very aware of many things. The pet hair on the furniture and floor where your child is playing, the small trinkets within your child’s reach, the glass coffee table, and the fact that there is no carpet in the house to cushion your child if they stumble are all suddenly jumping out at you. Your instinct to protect your child is put in overdrive. As your child grows, the trust between the two of you will be tested as your instincts may tend to take over you at times. You will have to find the balance between trusting your instincts and trusting your child.
A final type of trust you will receive when you become a parent is trust in your support system. Having a child requires an immense amount of time, energy, and devotion. Without a doubt, in the weeks following the birth of your child you will find yourself exhausted and in need of support from others. You will find that in order to get the amount of rest you need, you will have to trust others to take over your duties with your infant from time to time. Asking for help does not make you a bad parent; having a good
support system made up of individuals that you trust makes you a great parent. It shows that you acknowledge the fact that you do need time to rest so you can be the best parent for your child.
PINK Newborn Services would love to hear stories about the types of trust you received when you became a parent. Please share with us any special stories you have about the trust between you and your baby, the trust you have in your instincts, and the trust you have in your support system. Take time to reflect on how important building these trusting bonds has been since the arrival of your baby.
As always, if you have questions or concerns, or you need to talk more in depth about this topic, please contact PINK Newborn Services at www.pinknewbornservices.com or
toll free at (877) 456- PINK. Stay up to date with the latest hot topics, discussions, and contests on PINK Newborn Services Facebook and Twitter pages!
