Mama Joy's Filling My Cup
Hello lovelies... are you parenting too?
Mini heart explosions, staring the day away observing their every move, nuzzling so hard it brings you to tears, feeling a kind of deep love that's hard to put into words? It’s so true, all of it... and it brings such joy to my life— having a baby.
It’s not possible to quantify how much happiness bringing another human life into this world gives a parent. Let’s just agree it’s absolutely the best thing ever! Suddenly you're home with this amazing being and you feel the desperation to do things as if there is a set guide book on how to be the best parent raising the greatest kid on earth— anyone else feel that? Take some deep breaths, tune-in to your courage, faith and trust your intuition. You will feel so connected with your tiny babe and in my experience... you will not be lead astray. You're a brilliant team. You are YOUR team, no one else's.
Of course, we will call friends, ask our own mother's and lean into resources for guidance, especially if you're a first time parent. In my quest to find answers to questions during my pregnancy and once our little bunny entered the world, I came across one too many articles that frankly scared the bejeezus out of me. I wasn’t intending to stumble upon so many; “what they don’t tell you” kind of stories about vaginas, fatigue and more. No offense, I’m an open book and I like some insight as much as the next one, but I really wanted and needed to focus on all the good and encourage my powerful mind and body to keep manifesting the greatest experience of a lifetime.
So for all of you; mamas, soon-to-be, hoping to be or praying for a miracle. YOU are incredible. I REPEAT, trust in this perfect journey and your undeniable intuition. Mama joys are an everyday occurrence and as easy as it can be to slip into negative thought patterns of doubt, worry and even failure... I PRACTICE catching myself, shifting perspective and choosing trust, courage and joy. We are six months into parenthood and a good portion of it feels like I’m getting to re-live being a child. Parents, do you feel me? Here's some fun things to try if you're just getting your feet wet.
FUN and FUNNY (me not the baby)
Early to bed, early to rise… passing out mid meal, with a bit of drool.
Making mouth noises ranging from fart sounds to motorboats.
Singing songs like you know the melody and lyrics but just make up your own, terribly cute isn't it?
Performing giggly goo’s and monkey moves as if that is strong choice to get your babe to laugh. It is though, am I wrong?
Challenging your character voices during story time to see if your baby recognizes the changes... the looks I get from our girl are priceless.
These are just a few of the ways in which we get to visit our playful minds again, all for the sake of getting the love and attention from our little explorer looking to discover new things.
HONOR
The ability to pull yourself out of a deep slumber at lightening speed to feed and or nurture your babe back to sleep. And then yourself.
Becoming Octamom or dad, yes a parent with multiplying, helpful appendages where suddenly even your toes, feet & elbows become more useful than you thought was humanly possible.
Your partner or whatever kind of system you have raising your child. We are all imperfect and feel it so verbal validation and giving our loving support as consistently as changing diapers is a major WIN on all accounts for everyone.
It's incredibly important to applaud yourself often and wrap your parenting team up in compassion. We are responsible for a new life and it's not easy... honor all that you are doing.
DELIGHT
The milestone changes that happen so quickly, from smiling while they sleep, giggling out loud, roll over, get teeth, hug you and taste food for the first time, to name a few.
The connection you create between your tribe... the bond is incredible. It's indescribable and will cause your heart to swell repeatedly.
The poops, especially the explosive one's that travel beyond the diaper and can cause a 15 min time-out at any part of your day. Just lean into a fun pew-wee potty song and it will be over fast. You just must delight in this.
Sometimes we get so busy we miss what's happening right in front of us. The number of times I get delightfully sidetracked from perhaps what I was intending to do to see our girl play with a toy independently, explore a new space, sleep like an angel... or whatever it may be, is worthy of reminding myself to be present.
LOVE
Speak it, show it, be it. I don't believe a baby can be over loved in any capacity. Smother away, I say... a million kisses a day.
Relish in the love you receive, embrace it fully and let it guide you like a light through the questionable, worry-some times.
LOVE yourself for all the choices you make, the things you learn and grow from as a parent and for braving what some would consider being the most challenging thing a human can experience— raising a happy, healthy, kind child. AMEN
My heart was set on writing a blog about a few of the extraordinary pieces of parenthood that make us smile. The LOVE we give and receive is simply perfection. You can't go wrong with loving your babe. The joys of being a parent are steadfast. Growing abundantly daily. Remind yourself of these very things when difficult moments arrive. And there will be difficult moments. If any of you parents who have far more experience than me have some fun stories to share back... I'm ALL ears! Thank you so so much for popping by. Happy parenting!
“My mother’s gifts of courage to me were both large and small. The latter are woven so subtly into the fabric of my psyche that I can hardly distinguish where she stops and I begin.”