It’s astounding, the sheer volume of advice you carry alongside your newborn infant as you leave the hospital. And as you pack her into the backseat, it’s almost as if that advice will work harder than all the seat belts and airbags in the world do to keep her safe.
At night, when it’s just you and her and your fears that she will never learn to latch on, your eyes sting as you recall the nurse saying, “Avoid cleaning your nipples with soap, because you will erase the scent your baby naturally associates with her mother.”
So, the next time you shower, you DON’T soap your nipples.
And when she spits up in her sleep after she finally learns to latch on, you prop her to that magic angle that will keep her from choking on it.
And when she’s teething, you use those teething tablets that are really awesome. Until the FDA recalls the tablets and sends you into a flurry to find something that works just as well.
And then she’s six months old and she has six teeth and you’re suddenly realizing that you could probably start washing your nipples again if you wanted to.
And you probably DO want to, what with all those teeth.
