Mommy Love: A Mindfulness Exercise for Mothers and Babies

Amid “tired and tears,” a new mother sits next to a sleeping newborn, a cup of tea in her hands: “I am discovering how to pause/ and sit with what is.” Across this serene meditation on caretaking, Verde sets the stage for actions that nurture parent as well as child, modeling self-talk and other practices that might help smooth first weeks and months: “I can be easy on me/ and show you how to be/ easy on you.” Digitally finished multimedia paintings by Stoop show mother and child in a warm city apartment that aptly presents the chaos of early days with an infant—heaping laundry, a sink filled with dishes. As well as caring for the child, the new mother seeks community with others “who also are called Mommy and Baby.” And as the baby matures, the mother grows into the role, the name “wrapping us both in love.” An author’s note concludes. Ages 4–8. (Apr.)