My Motherhood Journey: The Beginning

I never knew I'd reach the finest version of myself until I became a mother. How do we really define motherhood? We always focus in becoming the better version of ourselves, but we had no idea that there's always something greater than that. Given all the tasks that every mother have, I'd say that there really is a thing called━ super moms.

When I found out I was pregnant, I was overjoyed that I even cried at the hospital when I heard her heartbeat for the first time. But, I was really nervous too. I have no idea how to take care of myself, and now I need to look after a tiny human who is half myself and half the person I love. I was unprepared and completely clueless. That's when I started reading articles about parenting, subscribing on Brianna K's and Emily Norris' YouTube channel and downloaded apps that helps track your pregnancy.

The true start of Motherhood: I became mindful of my diet, I monitor how much sleep I get and I changed my lifestyle. From then on, I knew that I have entered motherhood already. Nine months later, I was rushed to the hospital at 12 midnight, literally screaming and cursing because of the level of pain I didn't know existed. After three hours of labor, I finally heard our little one cry. I was physically exhausted that I wasn't able to hold her right away, but I'm still glad we had our first skin to skin contact, unfortunately just with our cheeks.

Doing everything by the book: Being a millennial mom, I don't believe much in traditional practices. They say, I should use bigkis but I decided not to. Her stump healed nicely and her belly button was fine. I listen when other people gives their advice especially when it's my mom and our pedia. But, at the end of the day, you always go with your own maternal instinct.

As mothers, we are expected to be clean and organized. But, no matter how much you plan ahead, you won't be able to take out all the things in your to-do list. In just a day, laundry and dishes will pile up, and even when you've done so much, you feel that you haven't accomplished anything yet. You'll realize that you're working 24/7.

There are more things that you won't believe you'll get through especially with the first few months. Sleepless nights, constant feeding and diaper changing. That was the time that I never get enough sleep for months. I wake up every hour or two to feed, burp and change diaper. I always make sure to be up before 7 o'clock in the morning, so Andie can have her daily dose of vitamin D. And again, the never-ending cycle of feeding and cleaning resumes.

I can't find the right words to explain my journey of entering motherhood. It was like walking into a place with hesitations and uncertainties. But when you are at the right spot, there's the feeling of great happiness━ a feeling of joy that you can't compare even when all the fun things you did were combined for the past years.

From one mother to another: There is no such thing as perfect days, because there's no way to become perfect parents. But, you can always be a good one. There are days that you make mistakes and then you'll continue learning. Keep in mind that it gets even harder but there will be days that you'll get through it. Whichever day you are in at this moment, don't get too hard on yourself. Remember that you are loved, you are amazing, you are beautiful, you are strong and there's always someone who thinks that you're the greatest person in the world━ your child.