The transition to motherhood is the most difficult transition I have ever undertaken. Nothing I read, nothing anyone told me and nothing I had researched could have prepared me for what being a mother was really like.
But since becoming a mom I admire all women who choose to undertake this transition, whether they already have or will.
It is amazing how one night you think about yourself and then within in a 24 hour window (depending on your labor time) you all of the sudden give all your thoughts, feelings, emotions, effort to this little person who you don't even know. This past general conference Elder Holland gave a talk, "Behold Thy Mother", on this exact subject and he quoted a woman who had written him about motherhood. She said,
"How is it that a human being can love a child so deeply that you willingly give up a major portion of your freedom for it? How can mortal love be so strong that you voluntarily subject yourself to responsibility, vulnerability, anxiety, and heartache and just keep coming back for more of the same? What kind of mortal love can make you feel, once you have a child, that your life is never, ever your own again? Maternal love has to be divine. There is no other explanation for it."
I listened to this talk when I was still pregnant, and while it meant a lot to me I listened to it again about a week ago and it means so much more because I now understand how this young woman actually feels.
So why I couldn't prepare for this transition other than experiencing it I do have wonderful examples to me.
First,
Annette
My own mother:
She gave all of her time to being a mother and still has 30 years later and even though her last is going off to college I know she is still needed as a mom (partly because Christie calls her multiple times daily) and because I know that I need her as my mom still.
But back to her giving her time. She sacrificed every minute of her young life to being a mom. She spent her Saturdays at the soccer fields all day watching her 6 kids. She drove every weekend to my soccer games in Atlanta, four hours away, just to allow me to play a 90 minute game. She spent many evenings pushing us to finish our personal progress and duty to god programs. She spent her holidays shopping, cooking and creating a wonderful experience for us. Never have I met anyone who has sacrificed so much time.
Second,
Christie
My older sister:
She gives all of her energy ALL the time. I have never met someone who has endless amounts of energy and can still function as a wife, mother, cook, homemaker, decorator, mediator, ect. She has four high energy kids and no mom, other than Christie could do what she does. She is able to get up with her youngest at 3 am and still find the energy to make 8 dozen cookies for various school, work and church activities and paint her entire home while still unpacking boxes from moving in just a month ago.
Third,
Jessica
My sister in law:
She gives all of her efforts into raising her young daughter. She is currently working on a PhD and still finds the time to teach Naomi her colors, shapes, animals, alphabet, counting, family members, plants, ect. She spends her days being a mom and then her nights being a student and still finds the effort to give both 100%. It truly is amazing.
Even though I separated what each mom does I know that my mom, Christie and Jessica give all of their time, energy and effort to being a mom. I am so grateful for these three examples in my life that show me what it means to be a wonderful mom. So while nothing I read could prepare me I don't really need a book to help me because of the wonderful examples that surround me.
I am adjusting to being a mom, each week it gets easier and each week it gets more rewarding. I already cannot believe how much I love it and how much I love Beckham.
Here are some pictures from when he was 2 weeks old and his baby blessing:
Baby Blessing:
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| My family. |
