Welcome To Motherhood; A Love Letter to Mothers Everywhere

Dear mommy’s everywhere– welcome to motherhood. I wanted to take a moment to say that I see you– I know you. You are incredible. And you are not alone.

Welcome to labor—the most intense, crazy, scientifically-rad thing that your body may ever do. After, you will never look at women the same. Following the birth of my first, I passed other women in the hallway and we nodded to each other in silent acknowledgement—like Jedi’s who can sense The Force within each other.

Welcome to sleepless nights. Even when your baby sleeps peacefully, you won’t. You’ll be constantly feeling them to see if they are breathing. You’ll watch them sleep like the stalker you that are.

Welcome to nursing boobs; when your chest becomes huge and engorged (and really, not in a good way). Where every shirt in the dirty laundry will now have milk rings…and some of the clean ones, too.

Welcome to anxiety; to the never-ceasing worrying that comes along with caring about your child with an intensity that cannot be matched. You will learn to multitask your fretting by Googling symptoms while nursing at 2 am, or reading a book on baby-stages while pushing a stroller.

Welcome to a house that is furnished in plastic. You may start out as the parents that say, “My kids don’t need that many toys. We only need a few.” But grandparents happen. And so do birthdays and the holidays. Pretty soon a sea of creepy toys that shout obnoxious statements will litter every surface of your house. It will look like Toys R US has thrown up in your living room.

You’ll wake in the middle of the night to a strange buzzing– the sound that a dying plaything-battery makes. You will search desperately to make that sound stop! But you won’t find it.

Welcome to making new friends. Friendships change with age, and also with becoming a parent. Your eyes will brim with tears when you meet a stranger in the checkout line who is also covered in spit-up and compliments you on having two of the same shoes on. Finding another mother who can relate to everything you are going through is a light in the darkness of judgment. These other mothers will become your partners. You will hear them shout at your children as if they were their own, and you will know true friendship.

Welcome to the time of your life—though you’ll be exhausted, dirty and constantly filled with concern, these are the most precious moments of your life. Try to appreciate them. These are the days you will eventually look back on with fondness and remember the smell of a newborn, the softness of their skin, how they slept in your arms, and the radiant color of their shit.  Every moment that you feel like you cannot survive (and you will have them), remember me telling you: You’re gonna miss this.

Welcome, dear friends, to Motherhood.