blouse - Target, pants - J. Crew, shoes - ShoeMint, glasses - Warby Parker

One of the most interesting things about becoming a mother has been the way it has changed how I view women. It has changed the way I view our bodies. The way I look at the decisions we all make on a daily basis and the way we interact with each other. When your body has created, carried and birthed another human being you begin to respect it in ways you never had before. You feel stronger even in light of all the weakness - the thinning hair, the mushy tummy and all those other unmentionables... It really does inject you with a dose of "I can do anything" attitude.  

It's also made me stop judging women once and for all. I used to think there were right and wrong ways to parent, to be, and now? Now I think as long as your child is happy and healthy I couldn't care less what you're doing to make them that way. Breastfeeding, crying it out (or the "Mommy Dearest Method"), formula, organic, co-sleeping (you sexual deviant you!), disposable diapers (or Satan's towels, as they are more commonly known), weaning, solids before one year (poison paste!), whatever!! Because this mama thing is hard y'all, like really hard, like legit fearing you are about to pass out due to the two hours of sleep you're running on (that would be for a 36 hour period, not a night, that would be luxurious) amidst a hundred Target bikinis and wondering who's going to take care of your baby while your face is planted into that delicious gray carpeting hard. And so whatever you're doing to make it work, to stay sane, stay happy and keep that babe out of harm - then rock on honey. 

And I've also noticed how incredibly kind and good us fellow mamas are to each other. From my midwife who knows me so well at this point that she doesn't ask questions. Who knows more intimate details about my life then anyone other than my husband and who handles these delicate, sometimes painful, matters with so much empathy and motherly love that it just makes me want to hug her sometimes. I know I couldn't have ever made it through post-partum without her and she made me feel so taken care of. To my mother who understands me without the use of language, who reads me via the bags under my eyes and the way I shuffle (instead of walk) around the house. Who knows what I need and does things without being asked. Who has loved me and supported me through ever step of this journey. She's the only person I implicitly trust V with, above papa bear, and she's the only one I feel like I can go to when it gets too hard, when I need some advice or when I'm just bursting with excitement because "ohmygodmumvjustgrabbedthegiraffe!!!!!" I'm also grateful for my physical therapist who rocks and feeds V during our sessions so I can be as "relaxed" as possible, for the sweet ladies who hold doors open for our stroller, for the women who tell me I look great and who coo at my baby. 

I feel that becoming a mama has unlocked the door to this most incredible, generous, kind and supportive community of women who share this miraculous gift. I feel so grateful and humbled to be a part of it and I'm trying my very best to pass it on. 

I suppose what I'm saying it that it is truly a hard job but an honorable one and a wonderful one too!