I had decided to dedicate the first blog entries of the year to providing advice about potty training (and the role of signing to help it along) and have already started on that mission with two postings. Rest assured I will have lots more to say on that topic, but I want to take a break to describe something else that I recently enjoyed.
I just returned from spending a week on the East Coast with my niece and her brand new baby daughter who arrived on Christmas Eve. Little Lorelei would have been my sister’s first grandchild had she not died of brain cancer 18 month ago. I had promised Judy before she died that I would do my best to fill in the painful gap her death was creating in her two daughters’ lives, and traveling across country to help with this sweet baby was a joyful, if bittersweet, way to live up to my pledge.
What new insights did this experience give me? None, really. But it did remind me about a few things:
- How tiny a newborn baby’s fingers can be.
- How soundly newborn babies sleep!
- How worried new parents, especially first-time parents, are about every little thing.
- How sweet it is to hold a baby in one’s arms knowing that it is being welcomed into this world with deep reservoirs of love.
And finally, it reminded me of the importance of family—not just as a buffer against the pain and sorrow that the world so often and so unfairly delivers, but also as a source of great joy and inspiration—clear evidence of the continuity of life and love.
Welcome to the world Lorelei!
Linda
Linda Acredolo, Ph.D.
Co-founder, the Baby Signs Program
and
Professor Emeritus, UC Davis
