Learning… to become a parent

When my child was placed in my arms for the first time, I thought I’d know what to feel — joy, responsibility, maybe exhaustion. But what I wasn’t ready for was the shift in who I belonged to.

When my child was placed in my arms for the first time, I thought I’d know what to feel - joy, responsibility, maybe exhaustion. But what I wasn’t ready for was the shift in who I belonged to. I wrote a poem to capture that realisation.

I still remember the way the world seemed to hold its breath when they placed my baby in my arms. The weight of him - tiny, warm, and impossibly new - pressed against my chest, but it was the weight of something bigger that truly overwhelmed me.

The midwife’s words, “So everyone knows he’s yours”, were meant to reassure me, but they struck a deeper chord. In that moment, I realised something unexpected: this wasn’t just about him belonging to me. It was about how, from now on, I belonged to him. Every decision I’d make, every hope I’d hold, every ounce of love I’d give, was all for him. I would do all of this happily.

Before he was born, I thought of parenthood as something I would ‘do’ - tasks to learn, routines to master, milestones to track. But in that moment, holding him, I understood that parenthood wasn’t something I could simply do. It was something I had become. I was no longer just myself.

I wonder if all parents feel this shift - the realisation that life is no longer just ours. It’s humbling, terrifying, and beautiful all at once.

I wrote this poem to capture this moment that I first realised I belonged to my child - the happiest day of my life.

Does this poem resonate with you? I’d love to hear about the first time you heard your little ones and what that was like for you.