In honor of Mother's day, I'm posting a few the affirmations I share with new moms: moms struggling with postpartum body image, breastfeeding (or not), sleeping (or not), juggling recovery with motherhood, and, in general, being part of the imperfect common humanity-ness of motherhood...
I love and accept my Mama body.
I have a new body postpartum. It is not the same as it was before because I gave birth to a child. I appreciate the miracle of what my body did! I celebrate that a baby grew in my body. I try, to the best of my ability, to love my “mummy tummy” and my new body. It is not the same. I am not the same. When I gave birth to a baby, I also gave birth to a new mom. I am as kind and attentive to my Mama body, as I am to my baby. I love and accept my Mama body.
I am an Imperfect, Good-Enough Mama
I have a Super Power. It is being imperfectly Good-Enough! Sometimes I do not get the dishes done or I get bored with playing on the floor. My child’s clothing doesn’t match, I run late, I get frustrated. I feel tired. Hooray! I am imperfect and Good-Enough! I am showing up, to the best of my ability, 1 moment at a time. My child sees that I am here, in the thick of it, the imperfection of this daily experience of growing, with him/her! That is what counts. I do not worry about being perfect. Perfect does not exist. I am Good-Enough!
I am growing.
I am growing, as a parent and a person. Like a new seedling, I am deepening into the darkness of the unknown, gathering new strength, and bursting, reaching out new parts of myself. I am developing a new sense of time, of sleep, of food, of relationships, of my feelings, of the core of my identity. I am growing into a new person as a Mom. I nurture these new parts and allow all of the feelings (joy, fear, anxiety, sadness, anger) of growth to be here. I am growing.
