Just You Wait...
When I was pregnant, the thing that annoyed me the most was when people would say things like "oh you think pregnancy is bad? Just wait until the baby gets here!" or "you have no idea what you're in for!" "breastfeeding is going to be so hard! you might just want to formula feed." I could go on for days. WHY DO PEOPLE DO THIS? What is it about the already vulnerable state of a new mother-to-be that people just look at her and say to themselves "well, today I'm going to try to scare the shit out of her!" and then proceed to actually do it? I don't understand. Becoming a parent is scary enough without having every Tom, Dick and Harry telling you how utterly exhausting and life sucking the whole experience is going to be.
But let me tell you what Tom, Dick and Harry all failed to mention.
Yes, motherhood (parenthood) is beyond exhausting. You'll never get enough sleep, you'll learn how to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with 1 hand in 7 seconds, you'll pee your pants because you don't want to wake the sleeping baby on your chest (kidding, but not), you'll go 10 days without washing your hair, your body will ache from carrying around your baby all day, BUT NONE OF THESE THINGS WILL MATTER. Would you like to know why? Good, I will tell you. None of those things matter because the cause of all these happenings is a little tiny human, a human that you birthed, who you will love unconditionally and without expectations.
So yes, being a mom is hard work; but for the love of god, let's stop trying to strike fear into the hearts of expectant mothers. Let's instead share with them the incredible feeling we got when we held our babies for the first time. Or how amazing it is the first time they smiled. Let's tell them how all the sleepless nights are going to be worth it when their baby recognizes their face for the first time. And lastly, tell them that the overwhelming love they're going to have for their new baby is going to be like nothing they've ever felt; but it will be the most incredible thing when they do.
But let me tell you what Tom, Dick and Harry all failed to mention.
Yes, motherhood (parenthood) is beyond exhausting. You'll never get enough sleep, you'll learn how to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with 1 hand in 7 seconds, you'll pee your pants because you don't want to wake the sleeping baby on your chest (kidding, but not), you'll go 10 days without washing your hair, your body will ache from carrying around your baby all day, BUT NONE OF THESE THINGS WILL MATTER. Would you like to know why? Good, I will tell you. None of those things matter because the cause of all these happenings is a little tiny human, a human that you birthed, who you will love unconditionally and without expectations.
So yes, being a mom is hard work; but for the love of god, let's stop trying to strike fear into the hearts of expectant mothers. Let's instead share with them the incredible feeling we got when we held our babies for the first time. Or how amazing it is the first time they smiled. Let's tell them how all the sleepless nights are going to be worth it when their baby recognizes their face for the first time. And lastly, tell them that the overwhelming love they're going to have for their new baby is going to be like nothing they've ever felt; but it will be the most incredible thing when they do.
Ever notice how all the people that try to scare you about parenthood also have multiple children? I've never understood that. Like, if parenthood was so bad, why did you choose to do it more than once?
ReplyDeleteI love your blog! You are such an amazing mommy! ❤️
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