What I Wish I Knew
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of connecting with another Vancouver Mom Blogger who was also nominated for Vancouvermom.ca's #VMTop30 (Top 30 Mom Bloggers in Vancouver), Amanda Archiblad.
Amanda is a Registered Nurse, Lactation Consultant and Sleep Coach and she has a beautiful blog and Instagram page where she shares her unique perspective on the motherhood journey and sweet snaps of her babe, Emily. She has started a "Things I Wish I Knew" Thursdays segment on her Insta page and I was excited to contribute!
First, where to begin?! ha - I'm sure every mom can relate that there are no shortage of things we wish we knew, or things we would have done differently. Motherhood is a continuous learning experience where we are just doing the best we can. But when I really reflected on what I wish I had known before becoming a mother, there was one thing in particular that stood out. Read my contribution to Amanda's "Things I Wish I Knew Thursdays" below:
What I Wish I Knew
If I could go back in time two years ago, to the very pregnant version of myself preparing to give birth, about to become a first-time mama, I would love to tell her one thing; “Perfectionism will be your biggest enemy in the next 12 months”.
I wish I could have let go of my idealistic views of what motherhood would be. I wish I would have allowed myself to sleep more and worried less about having my house clean and laundry complete.
I wish I would have spent more time just lying in bed and savoring the hours of uninterrupted time I had with my newborn, and less time thinking I needed to pile on concealer to hide the fact that I hadn’t slept in days so that I could get out of the house with a smile to ‘enjoy’ this new time of motherhood.
I wish I would have known that despite the beautiful photos I was bombarded with online, that new motherhood is not all Pinterest-worthy moments. But that doesn’t make them any less beautiful.
November 2016 - Aspen 3 months old here. Classic family nap time; everyone sleeping except Mama
The moments of makeup-free messy buns of unwashed hair with t-shirts covered in breastmilk are sometimes the best, most delicious moments with your babe that are all too fleeting. Soak those up. Capture those moments. They may not be the photos that make it onto your Instagram feed, but they will make you happy in years to come when you stumble upon them. Scrap the perfectionism mamas – there is no such thing in motherhood and for us to try and live a life that is anything close to flawless only causes feelings of failure, frustration, and even depression.
Life rarely gives you “do-overs”, but I feel as though the birth of our second child is just that. A chance to “Lie in” as Alicia Silverstone calls it in her book ‘The Kind Mama’. A chance to be home with my babies and be more present, less concerned about how I look while breastfeeding and more concerned with snuggling baby boy and watching Aspen become a big brother.
I wish I knew perfection would rob me of so much joy. I wish I knew it was OK to be imperfect.
Wishing you messy and beautiful imperfection mamas.
xo,
Gretchen
