I thought I loved Flynn when he was in my belly, but when he was born I realised I was wrong. I hadn't even known what he looked like. Now, I thought, that I can hold and cuddle my baby, NOW I love him. Now I have bonded. Then I remember when Flynn was three months old, I realise I had been wrong again - I hadn't really loved him when he was first bornm because I didn't know him. But now at 3 months, I thought, now I really do love him.

Now he is nearly 10 months old and I am expecting #2, I realise that only NOW do I really love him. The love I felt for him then was just a pale imitation of what I have for him now. I fully expect that by the time he is one I will look back on the feeling I have now and think "that wasn't real, but THIS is love".

Karina, you are just getting to know Claire, and right now she is only just getting to know herself (her weird tummy pains, the feeling of clothing on her skin, that strange sensation when she is placed in that plastic thing with wet stuff!) Learning to love and bond with your baby is a process, and I dare say that even those of us who love our baby and feel like we bond straight away learn that over time that feeling develops and changes. Just try to relax into that process and get to know her