I can't even told you who initially gave me this parenting insight, but I'm almost certain I encountered it years before even becoming pregnant. In fact, I'm pretty sure I even saw it's value and passed it on to a friend who entered motherhood several moons before I did. Of course, as with a lot of advice, I didn't realize how vital it was until I was in the thick of new parenthood.
"Only you can mother your child like you can."
That's it. That simple.
I am the only person that knows and understands my son just the way I do. I alone am his mother and love him as such. And I can rest in that knowledge.
I love to seek outside input and advice, see how others have mastered challenges, research the ways evidence states works best, and ask for insight from experts.
But at the end of the day, I am his mother, the decisions are mine to make, and I am the one to handle the positive and or negative outcomes of those choices. This advice is an invitation to acknowledge and trust your intuition. Your child is like no other child, you as a human and mother are like no other. Yes, you can and, in many cases, should incorporate the wisdom of those who have traveled similar journeys before. BUT you can also claim your motherhood and make it your own.
How are you embracing your unique relationship with your child and following where your motherhood gut leads?
[**This advice can of course be expanded to include a co-parent or father, as well. I am in no way discounting the role or importance of these partners - I am entirely uncertain how I would have survived these 3 years of parenthood without my husband. But for simplicity's sake I addressed the singular role.**]
