You thought labor was hard, but then you met its best friend, motherhood. Becoming a mother is unlike anything that you have ever experienced and it is impossible to prepare for. Today, we are talking about getting through your first year of motherhood & the expectations that come along with it. We are sharing the most common expectations soon-to-be moms have surrounding topics like motherhood, careers, marriage and breastfeeding. We address some ideas about motherhood and parenting that we have prior to baby, as well as how these expectations compare to reality.
What’s In This Episode:
- Jenn & Lara’s experiences in the first year of motherhood, both the hard parts & the good parts
- The difficulty of setting aside or adjusting your expectations
- The surprising amount of joy & happiness you experience becoming a mom
- How having a child allows you to see yourself, your strengths, & your shortcomings more clearly
- The importance of adjusting your expectations to meet reality to alleviate the amount of disappointment you will experience
- Jenn & Lara’s biggest takeaways from their first year of motherhood
- The most common expectations given by soon-to-be moms on motherhood, careers, marriage, breastfeeding, and the rules they plan to abide by
- How Jenn & Lara’s experiences compare to the expectations of expectant mothers
- Several takeaways surrounding the idea of expectations vs. reality
Resources & Links:
Quotes:
“The hardest part was really coming to accept the actual whole reality [of motherhood].”
“You cannot really prepare for it.”
“Never did I imagine the amount of exhaustion I experienced, however, I also never imagined the amount of joy and happiness that being a mom & having this amazing child in my life would bring me. It’s indescribable.”
“People say motherhood is a full time job and every full time job I’ve had is 40 hours a week with benefits. This is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with love & occasional vomit in your face. A lot of vomit.”
“The ups and the downs is what made it such a rewarding, fulfilling year. If it was so easy the whole time, I wouldn’t have gained or learned as much.”
“Getting through that first year of motherhood really gave me confidence.”
“If you want to learn to multitask, be a mom.”
“The more that I embrace not being perfect and the more I talk to other women about how I’m not doing it perfectly well & the more vulnerable I allow myself to be, the better I feel.”
“Women in America are expected to work full-time like they are not mothers & be mothers like that do not work.”
“Yes, it’ll make you stronger and your love will grow, but don’t be discouraged if you have a season you are fighting more.”
“The best advice I heard about breastfeeding is that it’s a relationship between you and your baby and once that relationship no longer works whether it’s because of your body or the baby, then it’s fine & you just adjust the boundaries for that relationship.”
“No mom guilt. It’s taking up time we just do not have.”
“Everything is a season & you’re gonna get through it.”
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