Why hello there. It has been far too long, and there are a thousand things I hope to share soon. But for now I must start with what has been on my mind A TON lately.
Being a "supermom". Okay seriously I know that to many of you veteran moms out there you know that there is really no such thing, and one day I truly hope that I can fully understand why this concept is one that I struggle with so badly.
As a new-ish mom of my wonderful, ornery, bossy and absolutely loving daughter I find myself occasionally struggling with feelings of inadequacy in the motherhood department. Our culture is one in which we have access to an overload of information, stories, pictures, words of wisdom and opportunities to compare our families to others. All of this can be so overwhelming and I have found that I do struggle with seeing what other families are doing and wondering where I went wrong.
For example, my 9.5 month old still does not sleep through the night. I have tried all I can think of and for some dumb reason it makes me feel like a bad mother, and honestly a bit hopeless. But, my 9.5 month old LOVES all kinds of food. I can put almost anything in front of her and she will gobble it up-especially if it has pizza sauce on it! So see its all sorts of crazy in my sleep-deprived brain. Once second I feel hopeless and the next I can't help but be proud of my foodie baby.
What I am trying to say is that when I take a second to step back and think about all of these thoughts, struggles, events and joys I realize that just because my daughter is different than another baby does not make me a bad mom. All it means is that my family is doing just as we are supposed to be doing-learning as we go. And all of those other families are doing the best they can too. And the beauty is that non of it is wrong.
Recently I have seen so many uplifting articles about how moms need to be a support for each other and that there is no one perfect way of raising a child. And let me just tell you how true that is. Recently, I had to start supplementing Cecilia's breastfeeding with formula and I had such a hard time with it at first. Then I realized how much it helps me feel like I am doing something right. If I had surrounded myself in a culture where formula was frowned upon, or where I was judged for feeling relief from that nightly bottle, I would probably lose my mind. This all goes to show that there is no one perfect way of parenting or being a mom.
We mothers, need to stick together and be a support for one another. I feel so lucky that I have a very strong support of new and veteran moms to help me along my journey. And one day, who knows maybe we will all find what it truly means to be a supermom for our own children.
Sam
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