Sister, this blog's for you

A letter of encouragement to my sister, going on her 11th day as a first time mother.

Where do I begin? You can do it! (How's that for encouragement?) Being a mother is the hardest, most awesome and rewarding job you will ever have. I know that you are feeling overwhelmed right now by all the emotions and hormones and the monumental cataclysm that is becoming a mother. Let's review the past 11 days, shall we?

First, you labored and gave birth. Read those words again: gave birth. You and DH brought a whole new human being into this world. He is adorable and perfect. But he is a lump. He is a newborn and all newborns know how to do is eat, sleep, mess up his diaper, spit up, and eat some more. But goodness, he is a beautiful lump.

I remember when we brought Miss H home from the hospital, Mr. Rose and I just looked at each other with a "What now?" question on our face. We had our struggles getting established nursing, she had jaundice and wouldn't poo, she cried, we let her sleep on our chests. It was HARD.

And then he went back to work. I was with her by myself all day. I felt isolated and alone. I didn't have many friends in Little Town, NC. It was HARD.

I wanted to go back to work, but it just wasn't an option. The job that I loved  (and was good at I might add!) was too far of a drive and required regular amounts of travel. Not being able to go back, it hurt. I felt like I lost a piece of myself by not working. It was HARD.

Before I knew it, Miss H wasn't a newborn lump anymore. It was like I blinked and she was big all of a sudden. She was stuffing her face with birthday cake and walking and saying "cat." I had been with her every day for twelve months and I felt like I missed the entire thing. Time moves so slowly, and yet is speeds by at lightening pace. I wished I could go back to the beginning. Go back to the newborn lump phase, and soak it all in. It was HARD.

I was an accidental stay at home Mom. I never planned to be one. I ALWAYS thought that I would go back to work. When we moved to Suburb town, FL, I threw the idea around of getting a job. But my heart wasn't in it. And then I was pregnant again anyway.

My point is, you never know how you are going to feel until you are actually in the situation. Some mothers absolutely know that they want to go back to work and do, others absolutely know that they want to stay home. For some, they don't always get what they want.

In the end, you must do what feels right. Regardless of what you decide, no one can take away the fact that you are little PK's Mommy. I have asked some of my bloggy friends to link up some of their posts about becoming a mother here. I hope you find more encouragement and insight. Becoming a mother is hard. Everyone deals with it differently. You will find your groove. Don't forget to pray for guidance.

I love you sweetie.

Your best friend,

Errie