What makes us want to have kids?
We lose sleep, money and any time we have to ourselves.
For anyone I am scaring with my “if I don’t laugh I’ll cry stories” please know that Motherhood is beyond description.
Mothers, think about trying to explain it to a girlfriend who doesn’t have kids.
“It’s amazing!” She’s eyeing the vomit on your shirt doubtfully.
“It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” She thinks about this briefly as she stands in a wine bar, dressed to the nines and she knows you’re lying.
“I couldn’t imagine my life without them.” This is after you’ve cried into her shoulder about how they take, and they take, and they take.
But every statement you have made to her is true.
Plus there is the added bonus of being able to talk a new language.
You know… the code.
You automatically understand when a mother says, “She got up twice last night.” that this is either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how baby has behaved previously.
You know when she says, “He’s dropped a feed.” That it is either terrifying or liberating.
“She’s no longer breastfeeding.” You commiserate or celebrate, dependant on the age of the child and the disposition of the mother.
In circles of people you don’t know it’s easy conversation now,
“When are you due?”
“Is it your first?”
“Are they sleeping through?”
“Does your three-year old do this? (Insert your own problem here)”
And away it goes. Mother’s can find each other anywhere.
I was going through my kids photos today, so that I could finally print some out (Leo as yet does not have a photo album….) and I just kept thinking how gorgeous they are, how much I love them and how truly, truly lucky I am.
If you feel like this, leave a comment and we can let the Mothers-to-be of this world know how wonderfully sweet life is going to be.
🙂
The everyday doesn’t matter when they are everything.
I love this post Nicola, it is beautifully written…I think I decided to have kids to get off working for a while….HA! Sucked in, big time 😉
Haha yep I wrote this when they were asleep 🙂
Loved it nicola, was true, funny and meaningful. My sister just had her first bub, I have had my first (and only) 2 in the last 2 years and I still didn’t know how to prepare my sister. Except she has seen me become a totally new person since becoming a mum and I have never worked this hard or had so much meaning and fulfillment in my life ever before.
I think you gain a lot, empathy, understanding and the knowledge that personality differences don’t matter when you speak the language of Mums.
I can completely understand the language you are speaking!! Watching my son’s first football lesson last week, I was completely BURSTING with pride at this little boy who ran the opposite direction of where the coach said, picked his nose, looked up at the sky (Airplane? Bird? Aliens?) and used his hands more than his feet to get the ball into the net. How utterly cute this little three year old is.
Brillant Nicola!
Camilla 🙂
They are just sooo gorgeous aren’t they! I obviously wrote this post while one was out of my hair and the other asleep 🙂
I went out to dinner with some neighborhood moms and it was both relaxing and bonding and full of talk of sleep and poop and nursing…but not in an “i’m trying too hard to fit in way,” it was just…so natural!
Totally. You don’t even need to reveal a single personal thing about yourself…conversation just flows.
Awww…such a lovely post and so true. Love the pics of your little ones. You are so right – it is a ‘code’
Thanks Andj