The Importance of Mom Friends
My kiddos clearly love her; she’s a natural!
Motherhood is an insane journey to be on. Not only do you find yourself loving little creatures more than anything in the world, but you find yourself dealing with all kinds of unimaginable circumstances that you’ve never encountered before. You find yourself wondering things like:
How does one operate on such little sleep? Will I ever sleep again?
Why does my baby wake up every time I put her down?
How many days can one go without a shower before a newborn starts to protest?
Why all the spit-up?
Why are babies so good at waking up as soon as I fall asleep?
Will my nipples ever recover?
Who can I talk to who will GET IT?
That last one is important because being a new mom can be an overwhelming experience. There is the sudden responsibility to care for a tiny human and try to “do it right,” as if that’s even possible. And while your own mom can be a great resource and sanity-saver, it’s been awhile since moms were “in the trenches.” And husbands are great, but particularly when they go back to work, it can get a little lonely — and they don’t really understand the pressure it can sometimes be when you’re the 24/7 milk supply.
That’s why it’s so good to have other new mom friends. I have one friend who had a child a month after I did (who also has a toddler boy like I do), and having someone going through the same experience as I am at nearly the same time has been invaluable to my sanity. Having someone to text about potty training misadventures and overnight tantrums coupled with the typical exhaustion of caring for a newborn at least lets you keep some perspective and humor about the situation. It helps you realize that you’re far from alone on the crazy journey.
For all of these reasons, I am beyond excited that another friend is joining the mom club. Dearest Jenn is due to have her first child any day now. She is beyond ready and excited, and SO AM I. Jenn is a rare breed of friend; a sister-I never-had type of friend. We share a brain and so many of the same life philosophies. If there is one adventure you want to have a Jenn along on? It’s MOTHERHOOD. So it’s been strange that I got a head start on motherhood, getting through much of my third pregnancy while she was in her early stages of her first. She’s already been invaluable to me being my brain when chronic fatigue has set in and being understanding when too much has been on my plate and I want to crumble and just go take a nap. And she’s been a perfect sounding board, always letting me complain about pregnancy when she struggled to get pregnant herself. She’s even listened to potty training snafus and my crises about recent tantrums. Now, as she enters this crazy new part of her life and experiences it firsthand, I have a feeling she’s going to be even more of a friend to lean on. I can only hope I can do the same for her!
Who is the mom friend you couldn’t do without? —Erin