Am I the only one who cried when ridiculously beautiful Kate walked out of the hospital doors holding her precious baby yesterday?
I promise I was crying over how sweet the moment was, not because I was comparing Kate's hot mama self to my own waddling departure from the maternity ward wearing a mattress-sized pad inside hospital-issue undies and clutching that weird pink sitz bath thing instead of a baby. Well, I sort of promise.
I wonder if Kate and Will found the drive away from the hospital as terrifying as Tim and I did on the balmy March day when we brought Jack home. The sun shone so brightly. The world seemed too big and brilliant and scary for such a tiny baby. How could the hospital have let us leave with him? It seemed astounding, really.
But we found our parenting legs. We marveled in his beauty. We made mistakes. We learned how to parent not just A child, but THIS child. And it was hard, and good, and blessed.
I wonder if Will and Kate will argue when they feel frustrated and don't know how to best soothe their baby. Will they cry when they clip his fingernails and get a little skin? Will the first few baths feel more terrifying than flying a military chopper or walking down the aisle of Westminster Abbey in front of millions of people? Will they turn to baby books, God, and friends when they just don't know what to do?
That sweet nameless royal baby has everything going for him: money, privilege, and resources.
Those things will make his life easier in many ways and most likely harder in some ways.
But the most important thing he has is LOVE. So beautiful. I think that's why I was crying.
46 comments:
It was such a sweet moment, watching them leave the hospital with their new baby. You could see the love and pride. Very touching.
i wanted to cry when i saw the picture of her side by side with the picture of diana holding william in a polka-dot dress. Partly because I can't believe how fast time has gone, how short our lives really are...and partly because Diana wasn't truly loved. so many things in one set of pictures...
I was wondering if she would keep it real and walk out in sweatpants and a messy bun.
:)
No, I thought it was lovely too. Wil putting in the carseat and driving them home? Happy sigh.
So true - all of it. How funny, the first thing I thought (after noticing how gorgeous of a family they are) is "how is she wearing the giant pad with that dress?"
I also remember leaving the hospital with my son, truly shocked that they were going to let me get in the car and drive away with him.
I thought about some of the same things. In some ways, things might be a little harder for new mommy kate as the world is watching her every move. (She had a hairdresser come and make her pretty before the photo op).
Like you, I left the hospital with my maternity sweats and giant hospital undies on too! The ride home was the scariest things in my life!
Anna, you are a sublime wordsmith. I hope you will be able to publish a book - I will buy it. Hardcover! I also got choked up seeing the royal baby and his loving parents. Sending love to a very talented writer from San Luis Obispo, CA
I got teary eyed too... I think for me to see a young couple who has all the privileges of life, just act so normal & like every other family... the husband tucking the baby in the back seat, the wife sitting with the baby, & off into the big world :)
I cried, too. I don't understand the hatred some people have for them, such negative posts on fb. I wish them the best, it is a life changing moment, even for royalty, I am sure. God bless them and you and all mothers.
I was the same way:). I got chills watching them. You really have to have done it before---and if you have you know exactly what they are feeling.
And--damn--Kate always looks gorgeous. Could you imagine standing in front of that many ppl 24 hours after birth with that giant maxi pad:). Ugh.
XO- NovaMom Jen
I have to admit I've been a bit royal baby obsessed the last few days. I was so happy to see the new family coming out of the hospital. Glad to see I'm not the only one :)
Love is beautiful.
Amen.
You would hope that they would feel all of the "normal" things that new parents do. BUT, I think the reality of their lives is that they'll have someone to take care of him when she's tired and needs a break!
you were not alone in that- i cry when i see love like that, too.
I love Kate and I am so happy her and Will get to share such an amazing day, for both of them, together. I don't have children but I can only imagine to overflow of love they are feeling. Thank you for the post.
www.basicallybrandy.com
Thank you! I can't get myself to look half that good when I am going to a wedding, and here Kate was all beautiful the day after she gives birth to a king! Loved your description of you after giving birth; pads and all!
I didn't cry but I was glued to my TV for days. I have been in love with the Royal Family since Princess Diana was on the scene. I love how she raised her boys and I think William and Kate will be wonderful parents. I am pretty sure they will feel many of the things we felt with our little ones.
I was all, who cares, thousands upon thousands of baby boys and girls are born around the world every day and so many don't have anything near what Kate and Will have, many will not even live to see their first year, why are we making such a big deal about this one Royal birth! I was actually annoyed. And then I saw her holding her baby and I got really emotional, too. I saw a mother, I saw a loving mother, and her new precious baby. That was beautiful to see.
I'm just so thrilled for William and Kate, and couldn't be happier with them for their little bundle of joy. She looked amazing, and they both seem so truly happy! Welcome to the world, Prince George!
Oh, Anna...you describe it all so perfectly and real. And I am SO with you there...wondering about the tears! Oh, to look like THAT walking out of the hospital after giving birth AND to have that look of confidence. It was 1979 when we brought our 1st baby home & I had no clue whatsoever as to what I was in for. And then 20 years later when I had my son (at age 42)I STILL did not know, because I guess I forgot it all by then! But the Love and the Joy in those days, somehow outweighed the confusion, chaos, & utter exhaustion. May happiness continue with their lives and hugs & blessings to you, Anna, in remembering Jack's birth.
Watching was different for me because I couldn't help but think of the baby we didn't leave the hospital with. A rainbow baby and almost 2 years later, and it's still the first thought of this grieving momma.
Seriously, every mother in the world must have been wondering about the pad. :D
Anna, you are always so thoughtful! I'm with you, the love of a newborn is so precious and brings mamas to tears. xx
They looked so happy! And I think they will find a way to balance parenthood and royalty! Thank goodness most of us don't have to worry about the royalty part!
Beautiful post about this royal occasion. I think even with all the help from staff and money, the two of them will find it just as hard as all of us common folk find it when we come home from the hospital. And I'm sure they'll feel the same love too. : )
I thought it was so amazing too! She is gorgeous! Can't wait until it's my turn for sure!
I had the same sense of shock about driving a car with my newborn daughter inside it, after the birth of our first child. I kept a wary eye out for other drivers who might not be so uber-attentive as I was, driving as if I had a gallon of nitroglycerin in the trunk.
But the real wonder about all this is how less than 10 years later I was driving with all three kids in the car on the way to school, getting up some speed before the rise on Pope's Head Rd, to conjure up some negative Gs for the kids as they shrieked with delight.
I guess the parents grow up along with the kids. We learn how to define our role less by what we're afraid of, and more by what we want to give to our children.
Anna,
I identify with everything you wrote!
And I remember getting on the Beltway with baby Nell to come back to VA from Sibley - I sat holding on to the expertly-installed carseat in the backseat, as if that would prevent some crazy rush hour driver from hitting us. The world seemed to be moving so fast.
Love to you,
Claire
Yep...cried as watched it and then cried again as I read your post. God Bless them
I cried too. Mostly, I think, because of all the love thrown at them in celebration of their baby. I know what that feels like. On a smaller scale, but still. It's a beautiful thing.
My heart melted at the sight of their faces when I saw a clip of them both looking down at the baby - the enormous amount of love they already have for the child was overwhelming.
I realize that theirs is a different kind of life than most of ours - but the sight of that pure, unadulterated love means that this child will be just as cherished as ours are.
On our first trip home from the hospital, my husband could not bring himself to drive faster than 50 on the freeway (and we were in CA, so the speed limit was 65), and I sat in the back. When we got home, we put our little bundle on his changing table and said, "Okay. Now what?"
Larry and I couldn't believe the hospital just let us take the baby home, either. Crazy!
I just cannot imagine how they must feel in these first few days, their lives under scrutiny, his life on camera from the very first day of it.
But you're right, I saw so much love there and that is THE most important.
Beautiful words again. I'll buy the hardcover too.
Love to you
Amanda
@still playing school:
I am so very, very sorry for your loss!
My friend's son and his wife just had a baby and the anticipation, hope, and worry just exploded into happiness when that bambino came into the world.
I kept thinking how cool it would have been to be in London this week, and that even surrounded with all that joy and celebration William must have missed his mom more than ever.
I cried and felt silly...but ever since I had a baby, I cry when I hear of any child joining a family. I loved watching William put him into the back seat, and Kate cooing at the Prince, while William drove away. Before I had children, I didn't understand why my mom friends sat in the back with the baby. Then I had one. On our journey home, my husband drove 10 mph below the speed limit the entire way home, white knuckles and all. I have actually heard that they are not planning to hire a nanny. I wonder if they will think the same thing after a few sleepless weeks!
After having my first son, I left the hospital with mesh undies on, due to a c-section, a huge pad to catch the baseball sized blood clots and a big scab under my nose from an itching reaction to the morphine wearing off. Also, they made me leave in a wheelchair, hospital policy.
I get very sad when I see Will and Kate because his mom's not there. It breaks my heart. I loved Diana, she was such a courageous woman and accomplished so much in her time here. But I like to think she was watching from above, smiling down on her first grandbaby:)
I love your blog! Thank you for allowing us all to get to know your son! I have 3 sons and haven't stopped thinking about Jack since discovering your blog.
I loved this post as I felt exactly the same way watching the clips of them as they left the hospital. It is so precious and heart-warming to see the love and adoration on their faces as they stare at their new son and to see how the world is pouring out love for them is so sweet. I love watching new parents and I so enjoyed seeing William and Kate feeling the same way we have all felt despite the challenging circumstances they find themselves in.
Having your firstborn must engender the same feelings in everyone....regardless of who you are. I wish them every happiness. (No hospital knickers in England in my experience...you bring your own!:))
Dear Anna – I have silently followed your blog for about a year, and I just love you. I’ve prayed for you and your family many, many times. I wish I could meet you face to face. Your posts always cause me to think and reflect; to pray and grow. On this post, I’m actually going to comment – though I’ve wanted to chime in many times before!
Moments like this one with the royal family make me cry because the moment is so full of beauty and love; hope for the future and yet innocence of the future. It is the same feeling I get at weddings when the bride makes her entrance. This perfect moment is fleeting – but I want to capture it and save it! I don’t want that gorgeous, sweet family to have to endure the hardships and struggles that may be coming to them in another moment.
And isn’t part of the poignancy the longing we have for those purely perfect moments in our own lives? The perfect moments we remember from our pasts (pads and all) and the future ones we dream of yet cannot conceive will happen!
I think what we’re truly longing for is heaven -- where all the moments are as beautiful, perfect, pure, and lovely as this one. And they last forever!
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecc. 3:11
What a sweet post! I'm sure they feel all of those wonderful and scary feelings too. What a blessing babies are, though!
Anna,
I've read your sweet blog for a while, but have never commented. I love reading your posts- you are so real. And I'm just so, so sorry, incredibly sorry, about Jack. Through your words, I feel as if I knew that very special boy. Today, because my husband is out of town and my children happen to have gone to sleep earlier than usual, I went to a blog that I used to read a few years ago (way more fun to peruse the internet that fold that laundry staring at me). The blog is written by a talented photographer, who also lost one of her precious boys way too soon. She is also a Christian, and eloquent and real with her words, too. I thought her last post might give you a little bit of comfort. I can't imagine the journey of grief that you both have been forced on. But I do imagine it helps to hear from people who have been through the same thing.
http://natalienortonblog.com/
Just stopping by to say I'm thinking about you and your family.
This was so beautiful...I just hope they DON'T read Dr. Spock! That really threw me for a loop, and I think, although he may have had an idea or two---the rest was just...ramblings from his NOT mother's brain!
Love, Sherry's mom
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