After my first baby was born, I kept her beside me instead of sending her to the nursery. The next night, exhausted, I asked a nurse to take her—but she explained the nursery had been closed earlier due to staffing, reassuring me everything was fine.
That moment stayed with me, not out of fear, but because I realized how deeply connected I already was to my daughter. In the days that followed, I balanced exhaustion with awe, learning her every sound and movement while feeling both joy and vulnerability.
Years later, I see how that experience shaped me—teaching me love, resilience, and how fragile those early moments of parenthood truly are.