Motherhood. It can be a lot—but it’s exactly where I’m supposed to be.
I have the blessing of being a stay-at-home mom raising my two sweet girls in the admonition of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yet I’m realizing I need to practice what I preach day in and day out. I need grace in the moments I fall short.
I started listening to a new podcast: The Suzanne Venker Show. She has a lot of insightful episodes to help mothers realize the role we are destined to be—which is staying at home and raising our children. She especially touches on the importance of the first three years in our children’s lives in this episode. It was an eye opener for me, even as a mom who’s staying home.
Our children need us mothers, first and foremost. Not a daycare worker. Not a preschool teacher. Not a babysitter or nanny. And not your mother or mother-in-law all five days of the week. Not saying time here and there with a family member or a mother’s morning out is a bad thing—I actually think that’s good! What I’m saying is that your children are establishing an important attachment with you in those early years of their lives. Children, especially younger children, need their mother to be with them day in and day out; and that’s where I write to say that motherhood can be a lot.
**If you have a rebuttal to the stance that all mom’s should be staying at home with their children, then check out more of Suzanne’s podcast episodes that speak on dismantling the lies feminists tell, politically incorrect data on daycare, and single motherhood. She has another episode interviewing a working mom turned stay-at-home mama and the story she shares is for anyone who thinks they can’t do it!
As many of you know, I’m a mama to two under two. My husband and I prayed to have a second child back to back and God blessed us with that, so thank you Lord! But I’m realizing as my youngest is getting out of the newborn stage of sleeping the majority of the day, that my days can be tough trying to manage a schedule for the two. Valerie is almost four months old as I write this and Eva is almost nineteen months old. Two precious, little girls who can’t do much on their own and solely rely on mama: to nurse and make meals for, to put to sleep, to entertain, to regulate their emotions, to bathe and clean up after, and to instill the love of the Lord into their hearts. Needless to say, motherhood is sacrifice. The Lord (and also my husband) humbled my heart the other day to realize this.
My husband had to stay out working later than usual one night, so I was in charge of getting both of the girls to bed. Now understand, I’m speaking from having two under two. Usually, my husband is helping with our toddler and putting her to sleep, while I’m in charge of our newborn. The girls go to bed around the same time, so getting them both down by myself was going to be a challenge. I was praying for little to no tears (from my kids or myself!) through this nighttime routine. I managed to get Valerie, the youngest, to sleep in her bassinet. Eva was next. She still gets rocked to sleep at night time. I can’t bare to let her cry herself to sleep, so this has always been what we did for her. About five minutes in, I hear Valerie stirring in the other room. I ended up taking Eva into our bedroom with Valerie. I was laying in our bed with a baby to my left and to my right, attempting to get them both to sleep this way. It wasn’t working. Then Eva leaned over and bumped Valerie in the head. Uh-oh. My cool was lost. I got frustrated that this wasn’t working out. Read another Mom Chat here about something similar.
In the midst of both girls crying, all I was thinking was how badly I wanted to take a shower and go sit on the couch to relax. Lord, forgive me. My sinful heart was choosing self over my children. Of course both of my girls, who are both under two, needed me! They needed their mama to help them get to sleep. Why couldn’t I just be patient and take the extra twenty to thirty minutes to do this duty—to be obedient to my calling. It’s a heart issue, that’s why.
When the girls were finally down, I prayed. I cried. I asked God to help me. I can’t do motherhood without Him. Especially in the thick of it with two under two. Motherhood is hard, but we weren’t called to do only the easy stuff. I’m embracing this more than before, and letting go of my selfish intentions. Motherhood is sacrifice. Be blessed and always remember that, mama!
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