5 Things I’ve Learned…From Becoming a Mother

Oh hey there 😉

Over the past few weeks I’ve really bee reflecting on different segments of my life and how much I’ve learned from each part.  It’s amazing how little I really knew when I was a high school kid, college student, recent college graduate and in my early 20’s!  Writing this all out seems to be the thing that solidifies the growth in my journey through life thus far, so over the next however many weeks I am going to share 5 things I’ve learned from different parts of my life with you guys.  At least til I run out anyway 😉  And I would LOVE if y’all would share your growth with me too!

This first post is about the biggest change in my life this past year:  becoming a mother to the cutest and sweetest little boy in the world.  Enjoy!

1. Being a mom is HARD.  And I’ve also found and seen that moms are the hardest on themselves.  Nurse or bottle feed, co-sleeping or not, work or stay at home, the list goes on and on and on and on.  But you know what?  That child doesn’t care as long as you love them well.  And when you (or I) love them and do what’s right by our family?  That just means you’re doing a great job.  It’s never going to be easy, but the rewards are so so very worth it!
2. My body is pretty awesome.  I look at the almost toddler that is learning to pull himself up on things and army-crawls all over the house and I just canNOT believe that he came out of me.  I grew him.  And then he came out and now he’s like a full-fledged boy!  So if I have a few extra pounds on my frame or my jeans still fit a little weird or I don’t have a 6-pack yet, that’s OK.  All I have to do is look at Wes and know that my body has already done something cooler than any workout or diet could ever provide.
3. I can be pretty selfish.  Not really a fun thing to learn, but when I start letting go of things being about me the rewards are pretty awesome.  It means more laughs, more fun, and a lot less frustration.  So I guess you could say I’m thankful for the selfishness in a way because the letting go part is where I am finally learning to live.
4. Dogs really do help train you to have kids.  Random, right?  When Nate and I adopted Bunker right after we got married everyone said that having a dog, especially a lab, would help train us to have kids one day.  While there are some things that are different (hello, it’s a dog not a baby), I can honestly say that they were right.  I look at our dogs now and know that not only are they turning into Weston’s best buds, but they helped us learn how to love and care for someone else.
5. I’m waaaaaay more maternal than I ever thought I would be.  It was like a magical switch when that baby was born and now I can’t really imagine my life without Weston.  I tried last night, when I couldn’t sleep, to remember the times in college when I slept in til noon and actually had time to do laundry.  When I showered and put on makeup every day and thought that being a suit-wearing business woman was my calling in life.  And you know what?  I couldn’t remember that woman – how I felt, what I obsessed over, the minor panic attacks over having a paper due the next day.  I remember the actions but I don’t remember the thoughts and the feelings anymore – it was all another life ago.  And this life?  This life is so much richer and full of love and happiness than I ever thought possible!