Ya gotta love the little IG stories question feature.
Whenever I blindly put it out there for people to ask whatever they want I get some whacked out responses but this is one I felt was important to answer. I'm no expert at being a mom because I'm just under three years in, but I have picked up a few tid-bits along the way that could be useful to some mommas that are at the starting line.
The NUMBER ONE piece of advice that I wish I would have had someone tell me while I was pregnant and preparing to be responsible for another life is...
Let motherhood change you.
If your looking at my writing like it has six heads right now bear with me. I'll explain.
All my life I had always wanted to be a mom. I knew that for me life would never feel complete without having embarked on that journey. What's weird about that Is the minute I became pregnant I was HELL BENT on not changing anything about myself. My fashion wouldn't change ( I refused to wear maternity clothes), I would never be out of shape, I would still be fierce and independently sexy, and I vowed that would always be the me that I was before I had a baby.
"I'm not your average mom!!" I would repeat that to myself over and over again.
Pffffffffft!!! Boy was I setting myself up for failure with that. When postpartum depression set in that way of thinking crushed me. The perpetual quest to be the perfectly put together mom with amazing fashion sense and a stellar body-after-baby was a weight that no mom should ever put on herself. But I also didn't ever consider how much I needed to let myself emotionally change as well. There is no preparation for the mind screw that is to out of nowhere have to put something's that pooping on yous needs before yours. Its like all this little human does is scream and poop and eat and never lets me sleep and I'm supposed to lay my life down for it? Whaaaaaaat??? Yup mind screw.
I get how harsh I'm sounding right now but it took this momma little longer than most to wrap my head around that notion. I was fighting it tooth and nail and to this day I honestly don't know why. Once I finally gave into motherhood the road became a lot less bumpy. And I don't mean "give in" as in I resigned to some horrible fate that I had cursed myself with when deciding to become a mom. I mean I let go of the grip I had on my pre-mommy life and decided to trust the process. To give myself the patience I deserved to ease into the hardest journey I had ever had in whatever way I needed to.
Motherhood is messy. And for me its never what I expect or want it to be. But it is worth it. Oh so very worth it when I look into the eyes of my little curly haired bundle of energy. Remember mamas #WEGOTTHIS !!!
~ Hugs and Smiles ~ Riley Couture