Early motherhood is often accompanied by personal and cultural expectations, which don't always reflect reality. When expectations aren't met, disappointment, conflicting emotions, guilt, and fear of failing as a mother, may take over. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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At the same time, mothers experience certain losses. Loss of freedom, independence, spontaneity, predictability, personal time, body image, intimacy, sexuality, etc.
It is common for moms to grieve their previous life. But usually this need to mourn is:
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1) Either overlooked - too much to do, no time to process emotions.
2) Or stirs up guilt and shame, because the mom believes that she shouldn't be feeling any grief in the first place (trust me, I've been there...). ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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And then, there is the return back to work. The struggle to find balance between home and work. The fear of being sidelined or stuck in an unfulfilling job (I’ve been there too!).⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I could go on... but there's simply not enough space in one post. I intend to tackle each issue one by one in this blog, to go more in depth, so tune in! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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What I've learned from my transition to motherhood, and the advice I can give to other new moms is BE VOCAL. Talk about how you really feel and seek support. Above all be kind to yourself. And no matter how challenging it is right now, trust me, it won't be like this forever.⠀
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