The best and worst of motherhood

Until the moment I became a mother, I couldn't quite understand or comprehend the depth when people say “Mothers are the strongest, most noble and loving people in this whole wide world” It’s just a whole bunch of cliché stuff that I could live without, thank you very much!

The pain. The joy. The sacrifices. The love. The fear. The confusion. The anxiety, panic, loss of time, loss of privacy. The internal battle between a person's own inner personality conflicting with those of being a mother. The need to be alone and oneself roughly pushed aside because a child needs caring, loving and affection. The loss of sleep, the loss of opportunities.

I knew but I never understood.

Now that I am mom, everything within me is screaming for attention. My needs to be the best mom in this whole wide world and the need for me to be the best that I can be. Now, I realize the weight of the statement. We are the noblest people in this whole wide world.

There are many different sensations which come along with being a mother. Some good and some bad.

Best moments of motherhood

1. Seeing your baby’s first smile (does it matter that it could have been wind in tummy? Nah!)
2. Breastfeeding
3. Baby cooing and smiling when she sees you
4. Baby calms down when you give me a nice warm cuddle
5. Baby’s first tooth
6. The first giant wobbly step
7. The first word
8. The first baby utters ‘mamma’ or ‘mommy’
9. Getting down for tickle-time…right after story time
10. Seeing your child/baby overcome an obstacle without your help
11. The start of potty training (Very huge accomplishment)
12. The first A, B, C…
13. The first 1, 2, 3
14. When your baby comes over to you for a hug (for no apparent reason at all)
15. When someone tells you that your child is handsome or pretty
16. When someone compliments you on how well-behaved your child is
17. Child learns how to dance
18. Enjoying the off-key singing of your child
19. Seeing your child make new friends
20. Your child is able to love someone else other than you and herself.
21. You can dance around naked with your child with no inhibition
22. Going shopping with your teen.
23. Kissing your child in the morning before leaving for work
24. when your child gives you something to show you what a wonderful mother you have been to him/her.

Worst moments of motherhood

1. colic
2. First month as a mother
3. Teething problems
4. Inability to understand what your child is yabbering about (when learning to talk)
5. Sleeplessness
6. Awful excess of weight
7. First few months returning to work
8. Separation anxiety (for both mother and child)
9. Missing your child when you’re alone
10. The inability to watch a single TV program or movie right to the end uninterrupted
11. Missing out with all your unmarried, child-less friends
12. Missing out on those romantic diaper-less moments with your spouse
13. Baby giving your health shock 3 times a week
14. The first few days of weaning baby onto solids
15. Weaning baby from the breast
16. You feel like complete old hag in a disco or party.
17. First few times baby starts walking (toddling)
18. Throwing a tantrum of your own in response to your child’s
19. Clinging child when you’re tired from work or rushing to meet a deadline
20. Starting preschool
21. Employing a new nanny
22. When your teen gets his/her driving license….oohhh….the tension and stress!
23. When your teen tells you she’s got a boyfriend…worse still, she doesn’t tell you a ting and you find out about it from your neighbor.

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