New moms need to know we can talk about more than how adorable our babies are or how amazing motherhood is. We need to know our conversations can go beyond scheduled feedings and nap routines.
These women, open and generous, were unaware that their input was shaping my views on what it meant to be a mother. Their example, their work schedules, their parenting styles and reflections, helped me develop my own expectations and desires around motherhood. I listened to their advice and tucked it away, hoping that one day I would have the experience to understand what being someone's mom really felt like.
That it would be a joy to watch them grow up. But Mama, you never told me how quickly the time would pass; how the hours, the days, the weeks and the months would slip through my fingers so fast. That I would suddenly find myself looking at a child instead of a baby; a baby instead of a newborn; and beg time to be a little bit kinder and wait for me to catch up.
We cry because it's all too much. It's overwhelming. It's fast and furious. It's all so brand new. But, then, after we cry, we dry our eyes. We keep going.
For the next several weeks I am embracing imperfect parenting, loosening up about screen time and giving myself a high-five for every day we get simply get through.
We have plenty of beautiful, useful toys in our home already. I have eliminated the guilt of needing more toys to please them because I know they have more than enough.
