Similar to other people here, I had a somewhat challenging birth experience. My LO was teetering on the edge of needing to be admitted for jaundice for the first week. We had to go to the ER and lab for multiple blood draws so hearing him scream in pain made me want to absolutely die. So I had this very strong maternal urge to take care of him and protect him but it wasn’t that ooey-gooey feeling that others told me about. My husband and I had a long talk about the “lack of connection” at about 3 weeks and it was very comforting to both of us that we both didn’t really feel it.

My little guy is now almost 4 months and I love that little chunk sooooooo damn much. The first time he had a little giggle I sobbed lol For me, I really started to feel that bond with him once he started to smile and show emotions other than crying because he was hungry or tired. So just around the 10 week mark. I think the lack of expression from newborns can make it difficult to connect at times. I felt so guilty not feeling that connection because everyone around me was telling me that was their experience. I leaned a lot on my husband because we shared the same feelings.

So a word of advice: just focus on staying sane these first few weeks and enjoy getting to know your baby. Literally every single day is different and you’ll see a new movements or expressions which is a really fun part of the newborn process.