No matter how much we prepare for motherhood, there isn’t any book that prepares us for the nitty-gritty details that can surprise us in a good way or in a bad way when the baby arrives. We are told that parenthood will be the ride of our life, but we don’t know the exactly what the ups, downs, twists, turns, bumps, surprises, backups, or altitudes will be until we start the journey. We wonder, “Are we equipped with everything we’ll need or will we need to make stops along the way to ask for directions?” The great news is that the baby will be your life tour guide in more ways than one.

What Motherhood Taught Me Out in the Field

Motherhood taught me:

• That I would get 1 or 2 hours per day of sleep for the first few of months.

• That the other waking hours of my day during approximately the first year would primarily consist of breastfeeding.

• That maternity leave would require more effort than a 40 hour work week vs. a 22-24 hour day (but that even then, motherhood would be much more gratifying).

• That people would want to visit our family (or rather our baby) more than they had in their entire life.

• That taking a shower would be a luxury.

• That going to the bathroom would be a luxury which wouldn’t be as private as it used to be.

• That eating a meal uninterrupted, would be an impossibility for years to come (unless you ate when the baby was asleep, yet even then the baby would most likely awake when you were about to take your first bite. (You know, that bite that traditionally, people seem to enjoy the most 😉 ).

• That going to my favorite restaurant would become a rare occurrence.

• That staying at home would be much easier than going out.

• That it’s easier to carry your baby by wearing him or her, than by carrying the baby stroller all over the place.

• That it would be months before I went out alone again. And that when I finally did, I would feel guilty about it.

• That I would miss my son even those times that I should have been thankful to have to myself because he has already become such a huge part of me.

• That it’s much more rewarding to be attached to your child than to look for a baby sitter.

• That my tolerance for embarrassment would increase.

• That I could and wanted to drink this much water.

• That checking one thing off of my to do list a day, would be such a huge accomplishment.

• That I would be so inspired and energized to accomplish many of the goals that I had put in the back burner, because if you can be a great mother, you can do anything.

• That all your other accomplishments would become pale in comparison to being a mother.

• That my baby’s smile would be the best smile I had ever seen.

• That I would grow more patient that I already am.

• That I could love this much.

• That I would be so blessed by the baby showers I received during pregnancy.

• That co-creating and nurturing a life would be so rewarding.

• That I would be so blessed no matter what else was going on.

Even though nobody told me about these things, in retrospect, I see them as little and sometimes huge “aha moments” and daily surprises all rolled into one that I didn’t mind discovering on my own. After all, there’s no better job training  for how to be a mother, than motherhood itself. And there’s also no other jobs which such satisfying perks. Motherhood may not be unicorns and rainbows, but unquestionably, motherhood is the closest thing to it and thr most beautiful.

Share Your Wisdom Treasures With Us

So it’s now your turn to share your unique and purposeful experience:

• What have you learned about motherhood that nobody told you about?
• Do you think it’s better to be fully informed about motherhood, or to have some surprises along the way.

If you’d like, you may want to share this email with expecting mothers. Or, we can prefer to let them enjoy the ride of motherhood in their own self-paced journey. After all, they will soon have a little guide that will share with them the meaningful ins and outs of life.