What do you love and what do you hate/dislike about motherhood?

I love that my little one has given me more than anyone has. He’s given me patience, more laughter, has shown me what unconditional love is, and picks me up when I’m down. Those things are my favorite things when it comes to motherhood.
My dislikes? I’m not sure I have any really. I guess I can say that it sucks that we don’t always have a village. I would love that more than anything because I don’t know how to be a mother. I give it my all and try to be the best that I can, even with not having had an example growing up.

-Tess

How has motherhood changed you for the best? For the worst?

Motherhood has changed me for the best by allowing me to love unconditionally, taught me a new meaning to resiliency, a joy of watching what I created grow & learn new things, never forget to be childlike.

Motherhood has changed me for the worse by knowing that when you become a new mom each time the exhaustion is something you can’t control but can’t combat with either as it’s something you learn to deal with. Motherhood has taken my former priorities of putting self / partner first to all 3 as an equal which can sometimes not feel so equal even when doing my best . Motherhood has changed me for the worse as my worry of raising 3 black young men in this world can be scary and I just pray I do the best to raise them well so they can live on the right path to make the best choices weather I’m here with them or not.

-Antoinette

What has being a mother taught you about yourself?

Motherhood has honestly taught me a million things, but there are a few things I feel stood out. Becoming a mother showed me that I had way more healing to do than I thought. Motherhood almost forces you to address that childhood trauma you wanted to keep locked away, but it’s vital to heal to protect your children, so you face it head on and that’s been one of the most difficult parts for me so far, but it’s also been one of the most rewarding. Being a mother has shown me that there are so many things about me I want to change for the better, and it’s taught me that I am stronger than I give myself credit for. And while I say this, I still have to remember to treat myself with love and respect so that my daughter will learn to love herself.

-Taylor

What do you love and what do you hate/dislike about motherhood?

What I love about motherhood is spending time with my son. I love seeing him grow every day and seeing him get closer and closer to each developmental milestone. I love my broke little best friend.
On the other hand, I hate that it goes by so quickly. Every single day I think to myself “He will never be this small again.” It’s bittersweet. Another thing I hate is the constant guilt that comes with it. Time goes by so fast it seems, but on a breastfeeding / pumping journey, a lot of that time goes to trying to provide for the baby. This should make you feel good, but it makes me feel guilty that I have to structure me and my son’s day around that instead of just focusing all of my energy on him and normal life.

-Ashton

What is the hardest part about being a mother?

I think the hardest part about being a mother is having postpartum depression or depression itself. It challenges you mentally and sometimes physically while having to care for a tiny human. You’ll question yourself if you are a good mother and every mother is a good mother. We all have our good and bad days, but we can’t let that stop us. Our little ones brighten us up no matter what, so we just have to keep pushing for them and ourselves.

-Nadia

How has motherhood changed you for the best? For the worst?

Motherhood has changed me for the best because I am more thoughtful in my thinking in terms of not just thinking about what’s best for me.
For the worst because I think I am significantly more anxious about everything, even if I don’t have to be. Now there is significantly more anxiety. I also think motherhood makes me resentful at times. You don’t want to feel like you just want five more minutes of sleep or want your kid to just be quiet while you eat your food. You’re just still human even as a mom and you get triggered and get your buttons pushed.

-Lex

What has being a mother taught you about yourself?

Being a mother has taught me a whole lot about myself. Especially having daughters, my oldest is so outgoing and silly and I see myself in her sometimes. Makes me want to give her the absolute best and of course it’s the best thing to watch your little people grow into their own, but at the same time it makes me sad realizing I didn’t get to have her bright spirit for long. I had to grow up pretty fast and just did not have a great childhood at all. As a mom I’ve had to dig deep and find patience for almost every moment so that my babies don’t experience any of the unnecessary frustrations I remember dealing with super young. As a mom that’s been through those certain things as a kid I’ve had to realize there were a lot of parts of me that were emotionally immature because I was never taught to express, and never really had my feelings taken seriously. So I can honestly say that I’ve learned a lot about myself from being a mama but I’ve also unlearned things and broke certain habits and am still working through all of the things every single day so that I can be the best possible mom that I can be.

-Jasmine