Motherhood is uniquely experienced by all. No two
mothers are the same and no two babies are the same. So understandably, we all
go through a trying to figure out what is best for us phase of parenthood.
We receive unsolicited advice from every well-meaning
acquaintance we’ve ever met. We are bombarded on social media with everything
we should or should not be doing. We are surrounded by constant “tips” that for
a first time Mom, can be incredibly overwhelming. Enter me…
As a first-time mother of a baby with special needs,
I questioned myself at every turn.
When she was first born and they told me she had a
cleft palate and hearing loss, I almost immediately had a nervous breakdown in
the hospital after they gave me a little brochure that stated that the absolute
cause of clefts is unknown, but some contributing factors may be medications
mother took in pregnancy, stress in pregnancy, mother’s weight, etc.
Oh my gosh, those all apply! This is all my fault, I
thought. They sent in a counselor to talk to me as I cried that I didn’t know
how I was going to take care of her.
He asked me, “Are
you going to love her?”
“Well of course”, I replied.
“Do you have a home prepared for her or is she going
to live in a dresser drawer?” He questioned me.
“I have everything ready for her.” I said through
tears. “I have been waiting for her my whole life.”
“Well then”,
he says, “You will learn about how to care for her the way she needs and you
will love her and
everything is going to be okay. I think you can do this.”
And do it, I did. With great fear and trembling, I
took this little person home and dove head first into therapies, specialists,
surgeons, special feedings and medical grade equipment in the house.
I learned how to put one foot in front of the other
each day and to be what she needed, even when all my strength was gone.
I had to find MY voice as her mother, which was my
greatest struggle the first 2 years of her life. I was surrounded by doctors
and specialists who all thought they knew what she needed, more than I did. As
a first time Mom in her twenties, it took a long time for me to realize that I
know something more than they do. I know HER. My body grew her. My arms carry her.
My heart aches with every little cry she utters. I know her every pattern,
every sigh, every look.
I know how to
advocate for her better than anyone. I learned to trust my gut feeling and be
strong for her, when I needed to.
I discovered a protectiveness that I’ve never felt
for anyone else.
I formed a bond that not a person on this Earth can
hold a candle to.
I watch my heart walking outside my body everywhere
she goes.
Being a Mama is so heart wrenchingly beautiful. We
have been given such an amazing intuition and we know our kids like no one else
can.
There are
enough relatives and random strangers out there to second guess us, so let’s
not do it to ourselves.
I am not going to lie, by the time I had my 2nd
and 3rd kids, I was like a tiny Dictator to anyone who tried to give
me unsolicited advice, because I trusted myself this time. I vowed to not
pickup another parenting book unless it really encouraged me and uplifted me. I
unsubscribed to all the “What your baby should be doing every flipping week”
e-mails, because they were stressful!
I stopped asking everyone else what they
thought I should do and started to ask myself what was right for MY children.
Find your voice, Mama. Trust yourself. Give yourself
grace for not knowing what you didn’t know before. Arm yourself with knowledge.
Free yourself from the opinions of others.
I always say,
as long as I know I did my absolute best and my children know they are utterly
loved, when my head hits the pillow each night; I can sleep in peace. Sleep
tight, Mommy…for however many hours it will be till your babies crawl in bed,
to find their safe place in your arms once again.
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