Accepting Help

My friend Jen just had her second baby, and everything is going so beautifully for her. The baby was born at home in a super-speedy (and intense) tub birth, both she and the baby are in primo health. They've been able to get a ton of sleep, and friends have lined up to bring meals and love and do dishes, etc in the two days since the baby was born. The energy at her house is so lovely. She's so happy. It's the experience she didn't get with her first child, so I feel doubly happy for her.

And, I have to admit, kind of envious. When our boy was born (9 mos ago!), I was so shocked and sleep deprived and overwhelmed with hormones, and slammed by the heat wave that I didn't even begin to reach out. People called and offered help and I didn't take nearly as much of it as I needed. My family did their absolute best but ultimately my husband ended up doing much of the care of me and the housework. I didn't open my world to the help that, I see now through Jen's modeling, would have done us so much good.

It's just a lesson. We can't re-do it and we have no plans for a second baby, so let it be a lesson to anyone reading: let people help you when you have a baby. Be open to their care in every way possible.