Since my previous post, what is new in my little piece of the world? I have a son and he is full of life and energy. He truly is a blessing!! I used to be called a chatter box when I was a child. I feel like my son surpasses my chattiness! He asks so many great questions that make me think and at times, I do not know how to answer him. Sometimes, I tell my son, your Dad might know the answer to that question Lol. He lights up my world with his unique personality!

What lessons have I learned in becoming a Mom? So many!! In his first year of life, I felt off balance. Everything was new to me. He was a bit colicky the first three to four months and that road was rough to navigate. I tried so many things and he wouldn’t stop crying. The excessive crying subsided after a while and at times, I cried a long with him. In the first year, my kiddo was not what I had read about that he would sleep a ton of hours. Nope, this child was alert and awake a lot. I have heard some theories about this Lol.

I also learned a nap for momma and baby is priceless! It helps with emotional meltdowns and the child being tired…even a short tempered mamma needs a nap from time to time.

I have learned how to balance home tasks with work tasks as I work full time as well. I have learned sometimes all a child needs is a big hug, and to know they are loved as they are, not how you want them to be or what they can do for you. I have learned I am a work in progress. I am not a “perfect” mom nor will I ever be.

The first three years of my son’s birth, I struggled with my identity pertaining to motherhood. It was the weirdest thing. I never thought I would be that mom. But I was. I compared my self and how I was raising my son to other moms. I thought, I am not a good mom unless I do what some of the other mom’s do. Spend all day in the kitchen, cooking and make every meal from scratch every day. I felt like a failure when I would hear other mom’s had fully potty trained their child(ren) by 2 years old. What was wrong with me that I could not have him potty trained by then? I reconciled this as I thought, by age 10 this is not going to be an issue. Why am I worrying about this? He will eventually get the concept and master it. I felt like a failure when I heard from other mom’s when they said, “my child(ren) were reading by age 5.” Perhaps, we are not meeting the milestone set before us by others? I feel like my motherhood identity is shifting. I hear other children meeting these milestones and now I am not comparing my child to the other children. He is his own person. As long as my husband and I guide him in teaching, he will eventually read. The pressure we put on our selves, the comparison trap of others around us and their children, and societies expectations of what makes the best mom/dad does not need to define our identity.

My identity as a mom rests in the knowledge, I am a child of God, yes I sin but the Lord’s grace covers me. I no longer compare myself to other’s and their parenting styles. God gave me this specific child and knew I would be a great mom for him.

What matters to me is does my son feel loved by me? Am I laying the foundation of introducing God to him? Am I teaching him character qualities found in the Bible? Am I taking care of his needs over mine? Am I slowing down in our fast paced culture and listening to him and his little heart? Do I feed him proper nutrition that gives him energy to play and to learn? What adventures are we having together?

So many more lessons in becoming a mom I could talk about. Another nugget of wisdom in becoming a mom has been trust your momma instinct. If you feel something is off with your child, then be his/her advocate. You know your child and love your child more than any of the expert opinions.

Parenting may look a bit different than what you envisioned life would be like, but roll with the changes and allow yourself to be internally changed and molded in who God wants you to be for your child(ren).