Waiting to hear your baby's first words is an exciting milestone for any parent. But what about your first words to your baby? The ones that happen just moments after delivery, when the doctor places their little body on your chest and you meet them for the very first time? After one mom posed the question on Reddit, hundreds of others are flooding the comments section to share the first things they said to their own children, and the responses so far are absolutely heartwarming.
More from Mom.com: These Real-Life Birth Stories Will Blow Your Mind
The conversation was first started on Monday in the subreddit r/Parenting
In their post, an anonymous user named kitsbe asked a simple yet thoughtful question: "What am I supposed to say once I've given birth and the baby is placed on me?"
While that may seem like a strange ask, considering every birth is different, the poster was curious to know what others said during their baby's first few moments.
"Honestly though, it's such a huge moment and I feel like I'm going to say something dumb like, 'Wow I feel so much relief! Like the day after you visit a buffet!' Because I like to make jokes."
The poster had some other random fears, too
Namely, that she'd be so exhausted after all the pushing that she would "just lay there with no emotion" at all.
"I want to make it a special moment for me, my partner, and family who will be there for support," she explained, but at the end of the day, she just doesn't trust herself. "I guarantee if I say something dumb like, 'Oh no, did I poop myself?' they'll joke about it forever."
To start, a lot of people tried to calm the mom-to-be's fears
Many tried to remind her that the whole thing is based on spontaneity, which is why pre-planning your first words is kind of … well, counterintuitive.
"You're supposed to say the first thing that comes to your mind!" one commenter wrote. "That's what makes it really special."
"Don’t overthink it," added someone else. "Whatever happens will be very, very special. You don’t need something prepared."
"You don't really even have to say anything," assured another mom. "Just take it all in and focus on your new person. Don't overthink it. Having a reaction prepared in advance runs the risk of coming across contrived and weird."
At the same time, plenty of other moms didn't judge her one bit for asking
In fact, they quickly jumped in with some of their own personal stories, which ranged from heartfelt to hilarious.
"When they placed my babies on me, I think I just kept saying, 'Hi! Hello! It’s you!'" one mom shared.
"Labor nurse here," wrote someone else. "Usually, people go 'Oh my God, oh my god.' and are mostly speechless."
"I said, 'Happy Birthday, baby' and then yelled over at my husband, 'Tell him Happy Birthday!!'"
Others had some not-so-G-rated things to say after giving birth
"After labor when they held up my beautiful firstborn son whom I carried for 38 weeks, I said, 'Oh shit,'" one mom onfessed.
"Mine was, 'You need to take him, I'm going to be sick,'" confessed another. "Ah, memories. So special."
"I was absolutely high as a kite and I heard them say something about the placenta then something warm, wet and squishy was shoved down my T-shirt," another mom recalled. "I yelled, 'Ughh!! get it off me!!' and several horrified faces just stared back at me. It was my baby they’d put down my shirt, not the placenta and those were my magical first words about my new baby."
(Oops.)
Some moms even said a few things they wish they could take back now
"I looked over while nurses were checking her out and I was like, 'Can I hold her?'" one mom shared. "Then once she was on me I said, 'Oh my god, she's ugly,' then sobbed."
"I don't know if there is a 'right' thing to say," the mother added.
But not everyone regretted their first words — many look back on them now and just laugh.
"I said, 'You motherf—–, what the hell was that?!' with my third, because he was a super fast nurse delivery in the bed and my epidural didn’t work," one mom confessed.
"I said what the f—," another mom said with a laugh. But just so you know, she has zero regrets about it.
"I had three hours of labor and almost gave birth in the hospital hallway," she recalled. "It was a 'What the f—' experience."
Other times, it was their partner who got the first word in
"My husband sang my son 'Happy Birthday' in the OR when he got to hold him for the first time," said one mom, who shared that she had a C-section, which is why her husband got the first snuggles. "It was really sweet and something I always think of looking back at his birth."
"The first thing my husband said was, 'Is he meant to look like that? I mean, why are his nuts so huge?'" another mom shared.
"I really didn't say anything," someone else confessed. That said, her husband wasn't exactly short on words.
"My husband said, 'Look what I did!'" the mother recalled.
In the end, though, the comments kept coming back to one central theme
Don't stress out about your first words to your baby. For one thing, they'll never remember it, anyway. But your impact on them during the years ahead are what will really stick in their minds.
And while those moments may not be captured on film or video, they are honestly just as priceless.
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
