Motherhood
The following appeared in the February 1998 issue of Parenting.
Motherhood
The following appeared in the February 1998 issue of Parenting.
Your Clothes
1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes
as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.
2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes
for as long as possible.
3rd baby: Your maternity clothes are your
regular clothes.
The Baby's Name
1st baby: You pore over baby-name books
and practice pronouncing and writing combinations of
all your favorites.
2nd baby: Someone has to name their kid
after your great-aunt Mavis, right? It might as well be you.
3rd baby: You open a name book, close
your eyes, and see where your finger falls. Bimaldo?
Perfect!
Preparing for the Birth
1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.
2nd baby: You don't bother practicing
because you remember that last time, breathing didn't do a
thing.
3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your
8th month.
The Layette
1st baby: You prewash your newborn's clothes,
color-coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the
baby's little bureau.
2nd baby: You check to make sure that
the clothes are clean and discard only the ones with the
darkest stains.
3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?
Worries
1st baby: At the first sign of distress--a
whimper, a frown--you pick up the baby.
2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her
wails threaten to wake your firstborn.
3rd baby: You teach your 3-year-old how
to rewind the mechanical swing.
Activities
1st baby: You take your infant to Baby
Gymnastics, Baby Swing, and Baby Story Hour.
2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby
Gymnastics.
3rd baby: You take your infant to the
supermarket and the dry cleaner.
Going Out
1st baby: The first time you leave your
baby with a sitter, you call home 5 times.
2nd baby: Just before you walk out the
door, you remember to leave a number where you can be
reached.
3rd baby: You leave instructions for the
sitter to call only if she sees blood.
At Home
1st baby: You spend a good bit of every
day just gazing at the baby.
2nd baby: You spend a bit of every day
watching to be sure your older child isn't squeezing, poking,
or hitting the baby.
3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every
day hiding from the children.
An excerpt from the Ensign March 1998:
.....Nearby in the kitchen, a mound of dirty dishes
waits for me in the sink. The laundry is not done,
the carpet not vacuumed, the bathroom not scrubbed.
Toys are strewn haphazardly all over the living
room and kitchen floor. A pile of unpaid bills
sits arrogantly on top of the bookcase, exerting silent
authority. All of a sudden, the negative aspects
of the moment seem to outweigh the positive.
But it is really not so. I remind myself that
I need to look beyond the temporarily mists and regain my
eternal vision of clarity. A house does not have
to be perfect to be a home of joy, a child does not
have to behave perfectly to love and be loved,
and every moment of life does not have to be perfect
to be of value.
There is perhaps nothing more delightful than
the sound of a little child's laugh, nothing more earnest
than a little child's inquiry for knowledge,
nothing more genuine than a little child's hug, nothing more
pure than a little child's love, and nothing
more sacred than a little child's trust. Motherhood is not a
burden to be borne; it is a privilege to be enjoyed.
It is not a trial of endurance; it is a time of
celebration!
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