Mommy, you smell like....

I find it funny that even though my blog address is entitled jamaicanfamilywoman.blogspot.com, I rarely write anything personal about my family, even though the initial idea was to make my posts about my family and my experiences about starting from ground zero. Well, in this post, I want to stay true to the concept and write about my darling Amaris' fascination with my scent.

Amaris is my second child and only daughter. She is a year old and even though she looks like her dad, I see my personality permeating through her. She is reserved and low key but loves one on one time with either her dad or myself. She is most comfortable around her family and becomes withdrawn and observant in groups. She also needs time to warm up to non family members. I find this so phenomenal because I am the same way. I completely relate to and understand her personality traits because she reminds me so much of myself. While this should not be shocking, it is to me because one would think that most personality traits are learnt based on observation and imitation. However, she is only a year old which in my view, isn't enough time to internalize aspects of other people's personality just yet. What is even funnier is the fact that her older brother is the opposite. He is a social butterfly that gets along with everyone and emits an overwhelming amount of energy to his surrounding no matter where he is. This is reminiscent of his dad's personality as his dad is also quite sociable. I believe that both my children are a prime example of aspects of personality resulting from genetics.

Amaris is quite attached to me, whereas her brother is more independent which may be because my daughter was breast fed for a much longer time than my son. My daughter has the potential to be away from me for a day, but becomes progressively antsy and agitated during our separation and it becomes clear that she needs to be reunited with me. My son on the other hand has no problem spending up to a week away from me whenever he goes to spend time with his grandma.

I have noticed that whenever, my daughter is ready to go to bed, she will fuss until I hold her and she is able to lay her head on my bosom as many children probably do, but it extends beyond the "pillowy" comfort that comes with resting her head on my chest. She tends bury her face in my bosom and will stick her hand in between my cleavage as she doses off to sleep. I must admit that the feeling takes some getting used to but she is so comfortable that she will fall asleep in no time.

Once she is asleep, I generally have to wait until she is in a deep sleep before I put her in her bed and retire to my bed. However, in about two hours, she will sense that I am not with her and will wake up and come to our (my husband and I) bedroom and climb into bed with us. She won't fall asleep again until her face is again buried into my bosom and her little arm is either resting on my breasts, stomach or some other warm place on my body.

During the days when she is not playing or watching t.v or looking at something educational on my laptop or smart phone, she wants to be held by me or to be lying on me or next to me, preferably with her head resting on my bosom or buried in it. She will place her head on dad's chest if she needs comforting also but only for a short time. She will eventually take off in search of me so she can rest her head on her mommy.

I am aware that this is how she arrives at her zen zone which decreases her stress levels and increases her relaxation and it helps her to bond with me. I also wonder which part of the process is most comforting to her and something tells me that it is the smell. Just the way she will press her face against my bosom trying to get a nose full of what mommy smells like. It is so adorable. Considering also that she was breast fed from birth, I can imagine that she is so used to that "mommy smell" that it is a necessity and helps to facilitate her relaxation process.

When she sleeps and I am not with her, she wakes up crying until she is beside me taking in my scent and basking in my warmth. And when I try to retire to my own bed again, she will eventually realize and request my presence beside her once again. It happens every time.

This led me to wonder what my scent must be like to her and this what I came up with...

Mommy smells like...delicious breast milk
Mommy smells like...warm pillows
Mommy smells like...sleepy time
Mommy smells like...relax time
Mommy smells like...my booboo hurting less
Mommy smells like...heaven
Mommy smells like...silk on my cheeks
Mommy smells like...comfort to my soul
Mommy smells like...I will miss you if you are not around
Mommy smells like...mommy's perfume
Mommy smells like...unconditional love
Mommy smells like...beautiful mornings and stress free evenings
Mommy smells like...forever nights
Mommy smells like...lullabies
Mommy smells like...feeling safe
Mommy smells like...the best mom in the world.

My daughter speaks in one word sentences but she doesn't need to speak for me to know this. Whenever she is resting her head on my bosom and I look into her round eyes and she gives me that smile of satisfaction, I understand every unspoken word that she tells me in that moment. In that moment when I am compelled to smile back and kiss her forehead to seal our bond. It is a pretty awesome feeling.