Cuddling

I've always been hyper aware of my emotions and the lack of affection that dominated much of my childhood. I grew up feeling generally unloved by my mother with my own emotions for her dancing between love, hate, pity, confusion, and admiration. I want to make sure that my daughter always feels loved. In the past 8 weeks, she and I have responded quite well to each other's emotions. She's definitely my little girl when it comes to wanting hugs and kisses. Today, it was a rainy day, and she was demanding a lot of affection. I would sit her right next to me, and she would cry for me to hold her in my arms. I would hold her and she would instantly fall asleep. Then, I would put her down right next to me and she would cry again to be held. Finally, I gave up on trying to do other things. Instead, I just grabbed her in my arms, and laid down with her. Together, we slept for about 3 hours, just cuddling.

She smiles when I gaze into her eyes. She smiles when I give her a kiss. She smiles when I hug her close. With every smile, we solidify our bond and connection. Some people believe that you should let your child cry and not to hold them too much because they get spoiled, but I feel like this method of parenting is actually creating people that grow up feeling uncomfortable with sharing their emotions, with cuddling, with needing affection. I would rather my daughter feel too loved than not loved at all, but I don't believe the former really exists. Shouldn't we be raising children that embody our most deepest capacity for love? I want to raise a child that is in touch with her emotions and unafraid to express them. I want to raise a child that never wonders if her mother loves her. So with every minute we cuddle, I rejoice in the possibility that my daughter will always be full of love.