Being a mother is hard. Motherhood can be one of the best and most rewarding jobs in the world, but can also be filled with its fair share of highs and lows, triumphs and failures. From the moment a pregnancy is announced, it’s easy to be quick to share words of congratulations. But let’s talk about some of the realities of motherhood.
If you’ve been pregnant before, I’m sure you remember anxiously awaiting those pregnancy test results. Will it be positive or negative? What am I wishing for? What will I do if it’s positive? Am I ready? Is my partner ready? How will I afford a baby? Will I have a healthy pregnancy and baby? And then that moment when the baby is born, you can hopefully breathe a deep sigh of relief to see that you do have a healthy baby with all ten fingers and toes, as the saying goes.
It’s not necessarily smooth sailing from there, though. If your experience was anything like mine, you’ve now got a fussy baby that breastfeeds every one to two hours resulting in a lot of sleepless days and nights. Having a fussy baby led me to stress even more when he was in someone else’s care.
Would they have the patience to care for a baby that cries so much? But then another sigh of relief when you get to celebrate that sweet first birthday. He’s survived and we’ve made it this far! But hold on! Then comes potty training, and, well, you get the picture!
It’s on and on from here. My suggestion is that this Mother’s Day, stop and think about the realities of being a mother, in all its glory but especially in all its ingloriousness, and then treat the special mom or mom-figure in your life to a Happy Mother’s Day. For any pregnant woman or parent with a child age 3 or younger, know that there are organizations that can be a part of your support system as you navigate the trials and tribulations of pregnancy and parenthood. We at Healthy Start consider it our honor and pleasure to serve you during this momentous time in your life. Meanwhile, a heartfelt Happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms out there!
Kerri Stephen is the Executive Director for Healthy Start Osceola, (www.healthystartosceola.org), a non-profit 501-c3 dedicated to protecting and promoting the health and well-being of pregnant women, babies and families.
