Baby's First Christmas

My first child, Jaevin, was only a few months old when he celebrated his first Christmas.
So much fuss is made about a child’s first Christmas- precious dated ornaments, the making of handprint crafts to preserve their littleness, visits with Santa and photos, photos and more photos. And don’t forget all the sleepers, bibs and stockings embroidered... with “Baby’s First Christmas”.

Of course, I participated enthusiastically in all of this hoopla. What new Mommy wouldn’t? I obsessed over every detail of Jaevin’s first Christmas, capturing each moment with my cameras and writing down everything that happened in my journal.

Celebrating Christmas with your baby for the first time is one of the most special moments you will ever experience with your child.

Each Christmas I pull out all the decorations and when I come across my baby boy’s keepsakes I get a little teary. Looking at my now ten-year-old little man and comparing him to his first teensy Christmas sleeper just doesn‘t seem real.
All of Jaevin’s little mementos are adorable and sweet, and they trigger another first Christmas memory that I can hold on to only in my heart.

On Christmas Eve I held my tiny son in my arms listening to merry carols playing on the “only Christmas” station I keep our radio dialled into for the entire month of December. The beautiful red lights on our tree were glowing and the moment was enchanting. He was so perfect and I wanted to make the magic of his first Christmas Eve last forever.
As the night crept by I realized it was getting late, so I started to turn off the tree lights and end Jaevin’s first Christmas eve. It then occurred to me that the night didn’t have to end after all; I had an idea.

I shared my ingenious plan with my husband and after a little persuasion he was on board. I asked him to bring a mattress down to the living room so we could sleep under the Christmas tree.

We left the lights and music on all night as the three of us snuggled under the tree. Well, technically there were four of us; Teddy, now our sweet angel dog, was not going to be left out, so she squished her way on to the mattress too.
Several times during the night I would wake up and feel butterflies in my stomach as I saw my son; my little guy, under the tree like a miniature gift.

We were able to sleep under the tree on Christmas Eve with Jaevin for another two years, but then his excitement and desire to catch Santa Claus made it impossible.

When my daughter was born, five years after Jaevin, she was spoiled with all the familiar “Baby’s first Christmas” objects, but Jaevin is the only one able to say he slept under the tree on Christmas Eve.

This year we are expecting our third baby, only a few days before Christmas, and I know I will be holding him or her in my arms on Christmas Eve, dreaming of sleeping under the tree waiting for Santa.

Originally published in the Welland Tribune (December 2010)

Note: We never did get to hold our new baby in our arms that Christmas eve...as she decided to be born on December 25th!