Maybe Baby Blog » Random Bests to Being a Mother

13th September 2010 , Posted by Jaime Teo

Random Bests to Being a Mother

There are many bests to being a mother, one of which is the statement “being a mother”.

I. Am. A. Mother. Wow.

5 months after birth, and I’m wondering who it was who carried the baby for nine months and delivered her. Was it me? (Afterbirth amnesia is a real thing) And now I have a sleeping child upstairs as I write this? Surreal!

Another, is the cheap thrill of hearing somebody tell me “Your daughter is so cute”. Not the cute part. I mean, that too, but what I’m really thrilled about is hearing the term “Your daughter”.

I. Have. A. Daughter. Wow.

Aunties Strangers will coo at Renee and jokingly request to bite her cheeks (I laugh it off and not so jokingly take a half step away from said stranger). Some will ask if I look after her myself and when I reply in the affirmative, nod sagely and say “孩子照顧得很好”(Translation: This child is well taken care of). That fills me with pride. I’m not sure if I should be worried at being so happy with a stranger’s approval compliment, but it makes my day. It may be because I hear “You are a good mother” in those words.

Oh and (One of) my favourite best about being a mother, is sharing the joy of Renee with family and friends.

Renee with my mom

Renee with Dan’s mom

I see our moms and sisters more now than in the past. They’ll come by on weekdays and spend a few hours with Renee. In fact, I even see more of my extended family now as compared to the past when it’d be just the usual Chinese New Year or special occasion meetup. They drop by to say hello and have a cuppa. That’s really nice.

Friends call when they’re in the vicinity to ask if they can come by to take a look at her. Sure it’s like I’ve become the non entity but it makes me happy to have company anyway know that they love her too =) I’m also all smiles when I’m told Renee is their hp wallpaper. Or that they look at her videos many times. *Proud Mama glow*

This next ‘best’, is about self growth – that may not always be a good thing (growth implies needs improvement) but growing is usually for the better so I see it in a positive light : I’m not a ‘cool’ mom. I think cool moms are those who do not overdo the mothering cause then it becomes smothering.

Sometimes walking down the stairs/escalator, I fear I’ll fall and drop her. Yeah, that’s it. I think I have an unhealthy fear of her falling / falling sick / getting hurt.

It was all too easy to tell my mother in the past, to let me make my own mistakes and let me learn even if it is the hard way. Being a mother now, I know I’d never want Renee to learn anything the hard way. I’d like for her life to be (unrealistically) painless and easy. I’d like for her to never fall and to never hurt. Yes, yes I know that falling and hurting is part and parcel of life. Character building too. But it really takes time to learn that lesson. I’m constantly reminding myself to let her learn and to give her space to grow.

Self growth is a about trying to be your personal best right?