Sweater made by DangerMouse's Auntie Dynasty
I have always known that my mother is amazing; now, I understand how that is a complete understatement. Every time I feel like I'm falling short on all counts (parenting-wise), she says or does something to make me feel like I haven't just gone skydiving without a parachute. She makes it all look easy. Effortless.
Which brings me to my point. Every time something appears to be effortless-a party, someone's appearance, or in this case, appearing to grow extra arms and doing Mom-Fu - it is the opposite of effortless. It takes a LOT of work.
I could be bitter and claim that I was duped by her masterful parenting, but that would be ridiculous. Instead, I'll brag.
Mom has kept a watchful eye over us. I have been dealing with a breastfeeding issue (over-production, forceful letdown), and Mom has been coaching me- and helping me get to appointments with the lactation nurses when she maxed out what she could do to help.
She reassures me when I'm certain I'm doing a terrible job; she answers my parenting questions. And oh, does she laugh when I am under fire. (Parents, you know what I'm talking about.)
When I'm exhausted, Mom comes over, changes diapers, makes coffee, tidies around the house- you name it. So that I can get a little extra sleep.
It's remarkable what a little extra sleep can do for you. Little things don't seem so overwhelming. The sun shines brighter. Laundry (that your mother did while you were sleeping) smells better. Even the coffee (that she made) seems to taste sweeter.
What I'm saying is: things are going well, courtesy of Mom.
Beautiful. It happens to be a belief I hold dear that every woman having her first baby needs her mom--and you have a great one.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you are doing an excellent job of being a mom. It isn't easy. It is great to have support, I have a great mother in law, who also does laundry, which is awesome. Hang in there. Your overproduction will even out and your tiredness will go away and you start doing diapers in autopilot. Enjoy every moment with you little one they grow up fast.
ReplyDeleteOverproduction is a hard thing to deal with, so I'm glad you have people around to help you.
ReplyDeleteI'll bet your mother felt out on a limb when she first became a mother, but has the experience now. Enjoy the support, you deserve it.
Yay for grandma Gigi. Yes sleep makes everything so much better and having a new baby for the first time is a hard job - they dont come with an instruction manual unfortunately. She looks so beautiful with all her dark hair. Glad you have lots of support around you too!
ReplyDeleteMum's are extraordinary and now you are one too :-)
ReplyDeleteMany thanks to Gigi for being such an awesome Mum/Grandma!
It makes my heart sing, at recalling all the wonderful memories of my own mother when my son was born. I love hearing how your relationship with your mother has changed. A newfound respect.
ReplyDeleteSleeping is good to gain strength for the rest of the day. But there will be times, even though danger mouse is an angel now, that it will be more fun to spend time with you then take that much needed nap. For her to, the world is a better place after a good nap.
Gigi is awesome. The first few weeks with the twins were aweful, with them beeing so tiny (preemies) and me beeing so overwhelmed and suffering from ppd. My mum and my MIL were awesome at that time, giving me the feeling, that I did not fail at every second.
ReplyDelete(although I have to admit, that I would have rather taken overproduction than the 200ml milk I had a day. There wasn't enough milk for the twins and I thought I had failed again...)
How truly lucky we are to have moms (and everyone else) who can make things better. One of the toughest lessons I learned was how messy being a grown up really is. My parents always made things look so easy growing up. I realized that it was the appearance of easy and that it really did take a lot of work to keep everything running so smoothly. You will do a great job and years from now your daughter will be amazed by you too!
ReplyDeleteYou are so fortunate to have GiGi so closely. I am two hours from my daughter, son-in-law and 14 month old grandson, so I am not the help I would like to be. It amazed me, when our daughter was born, how extremely intelligent my Mom became - overnight, with the snap of a finger!
ReplyDeleteGenevieve is so beautiful. Treasure all of these moments, as she will grow up fast.
......and yes, the coffee is better, the sun is brighter, and the laundry smells sweeter because of dear GiGi!
Hugs to all of you!
xo
We all feel like we are failures at motherhood at times. Just listen to what your gut is telling you - the old cliche is true it will not steer you wrong. You are so lucky to have Gigi's support.
ReplyDeleteSo good to hear that all is ok - she is sooooo beautiful. What a lovely post for your mum - it really touched me. I am not a mum but have another pretty amazing one, maybe I should tell her that more often. Best wishes C
ReplyDeleteThis was absolutely beautiful. Mucho love for all Moms.
ReplyDeleteMom is setting you a good example .... remember that when you daughter's time comes and she has a little one of her own and feels just like you feel right now.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't blessed with much help. So I can't imagine how it feels - you are so lucky.
RetiredKnitter-Elaine
i can completely and totally relate to this post. i had my first baby on august 31, 2011. it was a completely amazing, yet extremely difficult change in my life. i too dealt with over-production as well as forceful let-down. i would cry when nursing him. it does get better. at 2-3 months, you will hit what is referred to as "the sweet spot" and nursing will be an enjoyable experience and a unique time of bonding between you and G. my son is 5.5 months old now, and i so miss those first couple of months, as hard as they were. being a mama is the best thing in the world, so just take a deep breath, admit when you need help, and sleep when she sleeps ;)
ReplyDeleteoh a post, a post! :) Yay! And she looks just amazing! Sounds like everything is going well. Glad to hear. And mom's get mad props! (yes, this includes you)
ReplyDeleteCongrats! She's beautiful.
ReplyDeleteMy sisters did this for me. Since our mom passed when I was little...she wasn't able to but I know that she worked through her daughters to help me and they still are fantastic support.
ReplyDeleteYou have an amazing mom and YOU are an amazing mom already! Hang in there...you and G will figure out the breastfeeding...good luck!
She is absolutely gorgeous!