The house seems empty. Eerily quiet after all the hustle of the hospital corridors. Now what? You think to yourself. What's first? This new little one is completely dependent on you for everything. In many ways, this landing zone is its own form of drop shock!

All. Night. Long. Feeding, then crying, then feeding then crying! It's easy to become concerned that maybe you're just not producing enough milk, and your new baby may very well starve. Cue deep feelings of failure (which are then exacerbated because you're exhausted from the birth process and now not sleeping all night!)

Then it happens! Baby is free, and they are turned toward you. You gaze down at this little . . . stranger. Your feelings may be foreign, platonic, numb. You expected to adore this beautiful combination of you and your partner, but instead, the little one with smooshed features and strange colors contorts their face as their cries expand their lungs.

What is too large and how do we know? Evidence based birth looks into the current evidence of "big babies" and reports that two out of three expecting mamas were given an ultrasound near the end of pregnancy and told that their babies were too big . . .

But how do you navigate your need to be close to your family and friends while still keeping baby healthy this Holiday Season?