Talking to babies

Question for you mums out there: When you first had your baby, did you start talking and chatting to him or her right away? Or did it take some time for you to start doing so?

Someone recently asked me, "Why are you not talking to the baby more?"

The question kind of threw me off a little. I didn't like the feeling of being pressured to talk to my baby for the sake of just talking. In fact I went through the exact same thing when I first had Nathan as well.

After just starting to recover from labour, I honestly didn't feel one hundred percent like myself yet. I was feeling so fatigued and sleep deprived, I didn't feel like talking much, even to other adults. I just wanted to take things slowly and move about quietly, gradually regaining my footing step by step.

 

Upon further pondering over the question, I also realised that this baby was really a whole new person I was getting to know. I didn't feel like chattering random things to her. I wanted to quietly gaze at her, smell her hair and skin, nuzzle her cheek and whisper little secrets softly in her ear.

 

But I also admire those who seem to immediately know how to pick up a conversation with babies in such a warm, familiar fashion, as if they had already known the little baby all their lives.

So what was it like for you? Did you start talking to baby right away or did it take some time for you to know what to say?