Were you ready for that moment when you gave the final push or you went through the c-section or the adoption agency handed you your baby? Were you ready for motherhood? If you weren’t and you’re afraid, don’t feel alone. We have all felt that way. We have all done that preparing for the things we need to buy and set up the cribs and picked up the onesies and the blankets and had the baby showers – but there is no one who can give us the gift or the confidence that promises us that we are ready for motherhood.
I can’t picture myself as a mother
I said that – just a few years ago when I was pregnant. Don’t get me wrong, I was excited and I was thrilled to be pregnant and to be expecting a baby. But I was worried too, I couldn’t see myself as a mother. I couldn’t begin to imagine how I would transform from the adult I was into the adult I needed to be. We have all done this. We have all experienced this feeling and even those of us who have been preparing for motherhood since we changed our first baby diaper can experience these profound moments of self-doubt and it can grow as your delivery date nears and culminates in the moment they lay that baby in your arms for the first time.
This is Healthy
You may think it’s strange to say that feeling this sense of fear or impending doom can be healthy, but it is. After all, if you were to just blithely wander in and feel like everything was going to be perfectly fine – it can set you up for a heck of a blow the first time you spend hours trying to decipher what your babies’ crying means.
Feeling anxious is your body and mind’s way of preparing you for the great changes that are coming. Life, as you know it, will change when you have a baby. That’s the reality of it and all the preparation in the world cannot necessarily prepare you as much as you might like.
You can prepare yourself, by reading books, talking to other mothers and exploring your fears and worries with more experienced mothers – either your own or your spouse’s or even a good friend. Remember, all of these women have been there before and they will understand your fear, as I understand it – because we’ve all felt that fear. So remember, it’s okay to be afraid.
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