Making Mistakes

This week I overheard a new mom say that she “guessed other moms are just better at mothering” than she is. After a particularly challenging few days she was resigned to the idea that she had somehow failed at motherhood. This broke my heart. And I completely understood where she was coming from. I’ve been there many times myself.
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Here’s the thing. No one is good at anything at first. ​

We don’t expect babies to crawl or walk or talk perfectly the first time they try these things. We understand that it takes time and patience to learn new skills. This is true for the rest of our lives. Life takes practice. Mothering takes practice. None of us, not one single one of us, ever gets anything right straight out of the gate every time. Mothering is no exception. ​

The best way to learn is to make mistakes. 
Be bold in making them. 

Let your mistakes inform how you will do things the next time. Let your challenging days become opportunities to learn about yourself, your child/ren, and your growing family. 
I promise you, no one is out there doing anything “better” than you. Some people simply have more practice doing different things than others. 

Ask for help when you need it. 

Share your experience so others can receive help from you. Sometimes sharing stories of epic fails are the best ways to help. Those are the stories that remind us that we are not alone.
Learning to be a mother takes time and patience. Like learning to crawl or walk or talk, it’s not going to happen overnight. We get better by doing it. When we mother, we learn about who we are, what we value, what’s important, and what is not. These are lessons we carry with us for the rest of our lives. 
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Moreover, not only will we learn about our strength and resilience, we also model for our child/ren how to fail spectacularly and not only survive it, but thrive as a result of it. That is good mothering. Of both our child/ren and ourselves.

Let's make mistakes together. We have a few spaces left in our upcoming Mamas Circle Newborns, Motherhood Circle and Pregnancy Support Circle. Join us! ​