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Motherhood has to be one of the most rewarding, scary, and natural occurrence in life for a woman.
I can’t imagine anything that could cause so many emotions like fear, nervousness, excitement, joy, anger, helplessness, and so much more. But one thing that typically stays constant is that the love is real and strong, and a mother would want to do anything for their children.
What people think of motherhood is usually similar across the board – putting your cute bundle of joy to sleep, witnessing cute moments like them speaking baby language or saying out-of-the-world things, having people awwing everywhere you go, feeling like you couldn’t be happier because your seed is your everything, and so forth.
But there’s a lot more to motherhood than those moments we witness in front of us.
Here are some things you wish people told you about motherhood.
- You will more than likely be deprived of sleep, and that could cause you and your partner to fight about the most ridiculous things – as in, basically, nothing.
- If you nurse, your breasts will smell, and you will realize a very distinct milky aroma if you wear the same nursing bra for more than a day.
- During pregnancy, you could get varicose veins in your private part. Your parts will be different before you give birth, and even after you give birth.
- You may not fall in love with your baby right away, even when it’s staring right at you in your arms. You may feel like a terrible parent for not feeling that way, but it’s okay. Think of all you’ve been through with a pregnancy and giving birth. Give it some time as bonding takes just that sometimes.
- You might fall in love with your child so intensely that you won’t know what to do with yourself. Just know that this kind of love doesn’t take away room for you to love others around you.
- When you’re not second-guessing your choices, other people will, sometimes rudely and loudly. Don’t let them get to you. You as the mother of your child knows best what is best for your child, not some stranger who feels people should do what they think is right.
- You will get advice left and right, some of which could be wrong, outdated, or just not right for your baby. Once again, listen to your gut and instincts.
- Breastfeeding doesn’t just happen for everyone. A lot of mothers will have varying degrees of issues when it comes to nursing. Your baby might eat like a champ, but you could battle recurring mastitis. Or a weak latch makes it hard for your baby to gain weight. For some people, breastfeeding just doesn’t work out. Good thing there are options, so don’t fret.
- You might find yourself doing things you said you would never do. For instance, sleeping with your child, using formula, or feeding your child Kix cereal at 2 a.m. Whatever it is, these I-will-never-do things will probably be done at some point.
- You will accidentally hurt your child, and you will feel like the worst parent ever. You might drop them, slam their finger, bang their head, or even burn them. Shit happens. And as perfect as people look to parents to be, parents are still humans.
- It may be years before you sit down and enjoy a hot meal because you’re always running around trying to get your kid to sit and eat theirs.
- A solo trip to the doctor, mall, dinner, or grocery store will feel like a mini vacay. Cherish these moments.
- Having a kid can be a headache, something like a crappy roommate. They’re messy, loud at times you don’t want them to be, never clean up after themselves, and can be really mean.
- There will be days when you wish you didn’t have kids.
- You might be that person in the market with the screaming child, and you’ll feel bad for all the times you gave judgmental looks to parents who dealt with the same thing.
- You will dislike your children at times, but you will still love them. The intensity of both emotions may be shocking and strange.
Tell us some things you wish someone told you about motherhood!