Four words you want to hear.

When I was on maternity leave, a girlfriend (who had her own 3 month old), came over to keep me company and brought me a chocolate chip cookie because I told her I was struggling. Really struggling. I didn’t have the child birth I had planned, breastfeeding wasn’t going well, and my baby was crying, all. the. time. It was so nice to see an adult, and talk to a person who had experienced a lot of what I was going through, and also someone I was able to just start crying, and she 100% understood. Her “stop by” visit turned into a couple hours, and as she was leaving she said to me “you’re doing a great job. you’re doing everything right, and I’m proud of you“. When she left, I wept. Tim and I were trying to keep our heads above water, I was trying to keep the baby alive, and also prove to the world that ‘I could do it all’… guess what. I couldn’t. My house was a disaster. My dogs weren’t getting enough attention, and my husband was the direct target of my hormonal mood swings. Hearing someone tell me “you’re doing a great job, I’m proud of you” meant so much to me. I haven’t forgotten her telling me that. Jenny, if you’re reading this, thank you.

Fast forward to today, while my husband and I were on a two hour car ride we started talking about Gray, and how much fun it is to be his parents, which led to a pretty lengthy conversation about our breastfeeding journey (more on that in a later post) and he said, totally out of the blue, “I’m proud of you. You’re doing everything right.”

I didn’t say anything—I just looked out the window so he didn’t see the tears streaming down my face. Sometimes you just need someone to acknowledge it. Sometimes it’s four words that make all the difference.

this kid!

Being a mom is harder, and far more rewarding than I had anticipated. People have told me this—in those exact words, and I didn’t believe them. One of the hardest parts is that it’s essentially a thankless job. I mean, Gray smiles when I sing like a lunatic he sees me and that’s thanks enough; but hearing Tim tell me how proud he was of me, and that I was doing everything right in raising our little cuddlebear (yep. we call him that. to his face) meant the world to me. I know I’m not doing everything right—but it’s nice to feel like people notice how hard you’re trying. And isn’t that what parenting is all about? Trying your hardest?

If you’re reading this, and wondering if you’re doing an okay job with your little one.. you are. You’re doing everything right, and I’m proud of you.