I often have my single female friends ask me what it's like to be a mom. Getting pregnant for the first time at the age of 25, even though it did not feel young, meant I was the only one amongst my close friends who was having a child. I always knew I wanted to be a mother and I knew I wanted to be a young mother, so for me it felt entirely natural.
When I was pregnant I had many women share their honest sentiments with me about their experiences of motherhood. Some where down right scary. Was it really going to be THAT bad? Did motherhood mean not only was I going to lose my figure, the ability to sleep in and enjoy Friday nights out, but also was I going to change? ...become less free spirited, stop cursing, become more practical, less fun? Did it mean I was going to turn into a "mom?" I was assured that motherhood was going to change me.
Motherhood has changed me and when my curious girlfriends ask me to spill my truth on the experience this is what I say... Motherhood is an experience you can never prepare for, it is teaching at its finest; your child teaches you how to love unconditionally, how to see the world anew everyday, but more than anything, the hardest thing is that motherhood is a mirror. You suddenly realize that the only way you are ever going to teach your child anything or provide for them an example of how to perceive the world and live well is by being that example, living that day to day example of what it means to be a truly good person. This is the hard part!
Allow me to offer a little parenting advice from someone who has survived 17 months of it! 1.)Don't change too much. Invite your child into your world!
2.) There are no rights or wrongs as long as you are acting from a place of love.
3.) Throw away the damn baby books, your intuition know better. Except The Aware Baby is a must:)
4.) Get on the ground and play.
5.) Get over it! All the little things that happen throughout the day can get frustrating, don't let them get to you.
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