Mama, what a special time in your life this is! There is nothing more exciting than when you find out you are expecting your first baby..... or second, or third. It is all so special and something you only experience once with each child.
You spend months wondering what they will look like, who's personality they'll take after more + am I going to know what to do. Let's not forget the, "Please don't let me screw them up!"
Here's the thing. We get pregnant and we are sicker than dogs, feeling larger than we want, guessing what we may need, and wondering about how good of a parent we are going to be.
I'm here to tell you that babies don't come with instruction manuals, the second is just as tricky as the first, and every single one of their personalities are so very different. Blows my mind that these tiny people can pack such a big personality in there!
The other thing I want to tell you is that you WILL know what to do and you don't need EVERYTHING! Once that sweet baby is placed in your arms, the knowing what to do seems to come so naturally. Yes, you'll still guess a lot and you'll probably pick up the phone and call your mom to ask questions, but it always amazes me at how easily we can step into our roles as parents.
You are the right person for that little baby and all you can do is the best you can with the knowledge you have. It truly takes a village friends. None of us know what the heck we are doing, but all of us are doing the best we know how.
We all struggle to figure it all out in the beginning and I have four kids + still don't know it all. They all have different personalities and go through different phases. So when you think you're starting to figure things out, they change things up a bit! Let's not even talk about the tweens and that little thing called raising yourself! Anyone else experiencing the "Mother's Curse?!"
With kids, it's a lot of ups and downs and guessing what to do, but we've just gotta take it one step at a time.
One of the things that has helped me the most is finding a group of mom friends that I admire and bouncing ideas off of each other. You get all sorts of goodies such as different ideas for discipline, chore charts, fun activities, and so much more.
You quickly learn that the "perfect mom" just doesn't exist and we are all figuring this out together. If we had to do it by ourselves, what a lonely and disheartened road it would be. Let's support each other + lift each other up. We are all here doing the best we know how.
Now, give that baby some clothes, a clean bum + a whole lotta love and you're gonna do just fine!
