In honour of National Parent Day, I decided to come here and open my heart about the sweetest thing about my life, parenting. For those who don't know, I'm the mother of the sweetest little boy Theo, a toddler who's main job is to steal my heart everyday and occasionally (that's a lie) drive me crazy. You should know that while I'm writing this article, he's climbing through drawers to sit ON TOP OF THE STOVE! True story.
Ok, back to writing. When I found out that I was pregnant I was initially shocked, then scared. It's a whole new world and no matter how much you think you're ready for this, you're not. But that's ok. There are books, classes, friends, family, wine... oops, not wine, anyways you get my point, there are many ways to find help. So here is a good tip, it's ok to ask for help. Unless you're Super Woman or Beyoncé (who's actually Super Woman), you will need help. Learn to listen to advices and accept help when offered. But also remember that it is your child and you're the one ultimately making the decisions.
We didn't plan on getting pregnant at that time, it's actually a funny story. I haven't been on the pill for a couple of years because I believe it's really bad for your body, so we obviously used "other methods". We were living in Braga, Portugal at the time and for Valentine's Day, he had planned a romantic getaway to Spain. He told me not to worry about anything and even packed our bags. The thing was, he forgot to pack something kind of essential for a V-day getaway, if ya know what I mean... Long story short, it was easy to calculate my due date after that. HAHAH
I remember that after getting a "you're pregnant"on the test, I immediately started downloading apps and trying to find out what fruit size my baby was at the time. For me the scariest thing was the fact that now, I was going to be responsible for another little human. I'll be the one making all the decisions (along with my husband, of course), caring for him, loving him, giving him the best advices and even learning from him too. Soon enough all the questions start showing up. Am I gonna be a good mom? Natural birth or C section? Breastfed or formula? Montessori or traditional? Baby Led Weaning or Traditional Weaning? There are so many things to learn and so many different ways to raise a child, but I've learned that there really isn't one "best way" to do it.
We are so hard on ourselves sometimes and really all we have to do is remember this has been done since the beginning of times. You're definitely not the first person that might feel like "this is too much, I can't handle it", and you definitely won't be the last one. It's important to not let ourselves fall into "the perfect lives of social media" because really, that might look like reality, but it's not really. But that's ok because let's be honest, do you really want to see my shirt full of baby vomit on your timeline just for the sake of "keeping it real"? I wouldn't LOL!
So if you're not a parent yet, I'll tell you how it will be. There will be lots of diapers, sore boobies from breastfeeding, sleepless nights, spilled juices of the floor AND on the couch, lots of running after them at the mall, doctor visits... But there will also be lots of smiles, morning cuddles, lots and lots of "I love you, mommy", out of nowhere hugs and their smell.. oh they smell so good! You are their whole world! They trust you with everything, they come to you for kisses when they're hurt, because you know, kisses fix everything. It's essential to keep in mind that there will be hard days, but they will be compensated with amazing days too. It's definitely the most rewarding job in the world.
So to finish this post, here is a quote from Grey's Anatomy:
"Raising your own kids. They're gonna be who they are. We just have to try to give them the best shot we can."
xo,
Yandra
Comments