"Sweet, sweet baby."

Two people I knew in college got married and had a kid. Like, just last week. And it's got me thinking about our few days in the hospital with the boy.

3:29pm, our boy Daniel was born, on December 3rd, 2014.

And by that night, they trusted us with the little munchkin.
Buuuuuuuuuut, luckily, they didn't trust us entirely, so we had an overnight nurse.

I can't remember her name, but one thing I remember very well, was that whenever she was holding the little DanPar, or giving him a shot, or changing him, she would say, "Sweet, sweet baby."

It seemed automatic, and yeah, in my head, I gave her guff, thinking that she didn't remember our boy's name, or gender, or anything. She was rushing here and there, and we were just a passing thought.

Well, as you know, we were new parents, and new parents are dumb. A lot.

At one point, little DanPar was sniffling, and we figured he had contracted some terminal form of the plague. We called the nurse, and when we explained the horrible symptoms that the boy was having, I could hear her chiding smile as she said, "That's all right. It's normal for babies to be a little stuffy the night after they were born."
I relayed the information to Jessi, and we both shook our heads. Obviously, the nurse didn't understand that our child was suffering from an exotic form of mega-disease-itis.

And so, I went back to sleep, with the vindictive thought, "Well, I did everything I could. No one can blame me now when they come in and find that our child has been hosting some evil parasite from another world."

Now that DanPar's had a few cousins born, and I've seen the nurses from a different perspective, I've learned a few things.

This nurse currently probably holds so many newborns every day, that she's seen everything. And she knows what she's doing.
"Sweet, sweet baby" soothes young babies when they are getting a shot.
"Sweet, sweet baby" comforts young babies when their parents don't know how to hold them.
"Sweet, sweet baby" reassures young babies when something's wrong, and they need to go to the NICU.
"Sweet, sweet baby" tells young babies that they are precious and loved in their first few moments.
"Sweet, sweet baby" sends young babies on their way as they leave the hospital and go out into the harsh world.

And when Daniel's upset, and I don't know what else to say, I'll hold him close, and whisper, "Sweet, sweet baby."

(Don't mind me, there's just something in my eye.)