Wendy and Ollie
"When I was pregnant with Oliver, I was so excited because I had this idea that I would be this cool trendy mom with my baby in one hand, coffee in the other, and we would be conquering the world together! Boy, was I ever so wrong about that idea! The first 6 months were incredibly difficult and far from the life that I had envisioned."
"I felt tremendous pressure from breast feeding and I had a hard time producing enough milk.That made me feel like a failure of a mom. I mean, could I just get a break, I prayed. Giving birth was already hard, but why does breastfeeding have to also hurt and suck (no pun intended). In addition to the daily struggle of breastfeeding, I felt as if my life was stuck in "groundhog's day", in which every day would literally be the same day, rotating among feeding, burping, changing diapers, and attempting to get my baby to sleep, all in 3 hour cycles over and over again. Could I please get another break? There was no time for me to sleep and I was so exhausted. Honestly, at that time, I thought my life was going to be just that for the rest of my life without an end in sight. I felt the blues."
"Thankfully, with prayer, patience, time, and the support of other moms, I was able to get out of that negative thinking and find the joy of motherhood. Being a part of this "motherhood club" is very special. It means so much to me when I receive love, advice, and encouragement from other moms, or let's just say whenever us women support each other without any judgement. I was able to find strength and calmness in knowing that other women have gone through similar struggles and everything will be OK. Things will get better and they did."
"Going back to work after maternity leave also helped me a lot. I love my job and returning to it helped me find balance in myself. I felt sad and horrible about leaving Ollie in the beginning, but I realized that I can still be fully present and love my child while being a working mom. I felt that every moment was precious with Ollie. I found myself being more attentive, playful, and giddy around him because I was focusing in on his unique quirks, behaviors, and tendencies so that I won't miss out! I was soaking everything in and enjoying my new identity as a mom. I think what I learned the most about being a mom is to apply some breathing room and forgiveness to myself when things don't turn out as planned, or as I had envisioned. If you think about it, nothing really stays the same, nor is it truly predictable, with a growing child. I just have to roll with the punches, take things one step at a time, and do my job as mom.
"I love Ollie more than anything in this world and being his mom makes me feel complete. Now that he is a toddler, we are just having more fun than ever. We love exploring the city together. He likes to stroll and get coffee with me, and whenever we pass by a Starbucks or Philz, he'll point and say "Mommy, coffee!" with much excitement. He is indeed far from what I had ever envisioned for my life. He is beyond my dream come true. He's my joy, my everything.
When Ollie grows up, I want him to be prepared to handle life's ups and downs. I don't want him to give up, and when things don't go his way, I want him to hang in there, try his best, and have faith that God is always near and will carry him through. I want him to know how to handle losses and rise above hardships because I realize that I can't always shelter him from all the bad things in life. I want him to continue to experience a life full of joy and laughter as he does now as a child, and for him to take things easy and just have fun!
"Whenever we go out, we always ensure that we bring Ollie's backpack full of the essentials. This Dwell Studio for Thermos backpack is great for many reasons. It is insulated, easy to clean, sturdy, and the cute print is perfect because Ollie is obsessed with transportation, or basically anything with wheels on it! Sun protection is a must. We like Babyganics sunblock stick because it's handy, not messy, and easy to use. Ollie has sensitive eyes and he likes to copy me when I wear my sunglasses. The Babiators are perfect for protecting his eyes and for matching with "mommy". We also never leave home without a travel first aid kit (by MediBuddy in the orange container), a yummy snack, and toys to entertain him. Of course the toys of choice lately are trains and cars, particularly Thomas the Tank Engine."