New Mama on the Block

Being a near-mommy makes me feel like I’ve been accepted into a sorority. I’ve suddenly become close to several women I’ve known for years but were just acquaintances with before. Moreover, I’ve been amazed at the generosity and outpouring of support I’ve received from these other moms. I’ve never talked so much about breastfeeding and labor before.

I remember at a past staff meeting, one of my coworkers made a comment to one of my other, childless coworkers–”You don’t understand, I’m a mother.” I know it doesn’t tell you much without the context of the rest of conversation, but the statement alone made me realize the wall between women who have children, and those who do not.

Having been the latter for so long, I really couldn’t and didn’t try to, imagine what life would be like once I became a mom. I did get a glimpse of it this week.

I’m trying to work as far along as I can, so that I can take up more leave time with Baby when he gets here. So for the past couple of weeks, I’ve been hustling with the day job’s duties, keeping shots and ideas in my head for our upcoming photo shoots, and trying to get all of baby’s stuff squared away. That means keeping up to date with our insurance plan, reading all the stuff we’re supposed to be reading for our childbirth classes (a whole other blog in itself), unwrapping all the great gifts we got for baby, washing all baby’s clothes and accouterments, setting up the nursery, finding a place to check and make sure we put the infant seat in correctly, and on and on and on.

I’m mad nesting peeps.

Anyway, this pre-prepping alone just gave me a tiny glimpse of what life will be like once baby is here. I really won’t have time for much else, and now I understand what my coworker meant. The only people who seem to understand this chaotic life are other people going through it.

Another of my mom friends told me, “yah, watch what happens to your friendships. You suddenly start seeing less of your single, un-mommy friends and start hanging out with other moms.” Luckily for me, a lot of my close friends do have kids. But I am surprised at how much I’ve subconsciously sought out other moms, again, many of them women I didn’t seem to have much in common with before.

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