how to cope with the transition to motherhood
I am now the mother to a ‘threenager’, and while I have some distance from the early days, I still remember it like it was yesterday. I sat in various professionals’ offices, answering various questions like a ‘good, strong’ mother. I listened to the information given to me. I didn’t ask any questions. I didn’t ask what it all meant. I didn’t ask anything.
What all that comes down to is that I wasn’t allowing myself to be vulnerable. To be seen. I wasn’t allowing myself to feel the feelings. I was content to be ‘okay’ – neither happy nor sad. I was numb and I didn’t know it.
The transition to motherhood is a hard journey. Allowing yourself to be seen starts with:
feeling all the feelings
accepting help
lowered expectations for yourself
resting when the baby sleeps (how you rest is up to you)
outsourcing what you can
talking to your favourite people
journaling, and talking some more
Allow yourself to be seen by the safe people, the reliable people, the people who show up for you. That is how you thrive in motherhood.
Until next time,
