Sometimes I see myself in the eyes of other mamas, especially first-time mamas with little ones around my son's age.
Tired. Nervous. Lonely. Timid. Often I see these struggling new mama eyes on women sitting alone playing with their infant. Just watching the more experienced moms. I get it. I fought it, too. It’s been better with my second baby. Know what's making the biggest difference? Mom friends. Sometimes, I try to chat with the new mamas. I ask a lot of questions and talk about the standard mama/baby stuff. It can be socially awkward to have an intimate conversation with a stranger, but it's easy to talk about things like birth stories and sleep when you both have babies in your arms. When Nouarie was small, I blew off having mom friends, because I kept thinking I could do it all alone. I was wrong. I was that tired, nervous, lonely, and timid mama who wasn’t even at the playground. Now I often don't get to chat with the new mamas I see because I am too busy catching up with my mama friends. I'm still tired, but my confidence is stronger and my perspective of the rewarding and challenging experience of raising tiny humans, temper-tantrums and all, is brighter because I’m not alone. Mamas, find mama friends and make time to hang out with them in real life. Experience mamas, try a little harder to check in on the new ones in your life...even if they are just timid strangers at the playground. PS This picture is from the middle of the night when Noutin was three weeks old.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
February 2020
CategoriesNatalie PriesterI'm a teacher, mama, and mentor. I created the You Before School e-course and more. I'm here to encourage and share self-efficacy skills for women. |