The true meaning of motherhood

I remember when I didn’t have my son yet, and I always listened to the mothers talk about the things their children did. Sometimes I would get involved in the conversations, but always from the point of view of someone whose experience was caring for a cousin or a friend’s child. Back then it was almost annoying to be in the company of a group of mothers, because all they did was talk about their children. The talks would be about; what the child did at any age, the foods they liked or disliked, the sleepless nights spent by mothers when one or more children got sick, etc. So many times the rest of us without children would be left out and start our own conversations or walk away to find something better to occupy ourselves with.

Later, when I had a child, I realized that these mothers did not intend to leave us out of their conversations; It happened naturally and unconsciously. Without meaning to, I found that I couldn’t stop thinking about my little girl, if she was okay, if she was fed right and at the right time, or if she had had her diaper changed and things like that. When these are the dominant thoughts in one’s mind, the conversations that follow automatically focus on that.

Motherhood doesn’t stop at giving birth. From the first day of a child’s life, a mother begins to be trained by some unseen power to sense when a child needs to be fed or diapered. What amazes me to date is how a mother can distinguish the sound of her son’s voice among many other voices. For example, I was always intrigued when in a sea of ​​babies, say on an immunization day at a hospital, a mother left her child with the caregiver and walked over to the counter for something. Then, suddenly, several babies begin to cry and, among them, her own crying stands out. Another example is when visitors came home, there was a lot of chatter and noise, but through that, I could tell when the baby was crying in the bedroom. Checking it, she would have woken up.

Then come the stressful days and nights when a baby has a fever or an infection or a stuffy nose. Oh! All mothers go through these times and it is intriguing to note that, even without prior training, she will always be on her toes and on her feet to make sure the baby is as comfortable as possible. I remember one of those days when my son had a temperature above normal; 39°C (degrees centigrade). A baby’s normal temperature is 36.4°C/37°C, depending on whether the thermometer is placed in the ear, on the tongue, or under the arm. That day, like so many others that followed, I was always checking the baby’s temperature, placing a damp cloth on his forehead to reduce the “burning”. Now, I’ve learned that even when the doctor assured me that everything would be fine, it didn’t stop me from feeling anxious. Usually a baby will be fine during the day and then seem worse at night; thus the stress levels of the mother.

It is the duty of the mother to stay awake most of the night to keep an eye on the baby. Any slight sound from her baby will wake her up even if the baby is just sighing. When one goes through so many sleepless nights for the well-being of a child, that is true motherhood. It doesn’t end here, as the baby develops through the different stages, there are other challenges along the way that the mother finds herself getting mixed up in. This is not to say that motherhood is about the child crying and getting sick. There are many happy moments that are more than the difficult moments.

For example, seeing a baby smile for the first time is a very happy feeling for the mother. I don’t take that for granted because it gives one a warm and comforting moment that lasts forever. The first teeth of a developing child, the first time she crawls, the first time she stands up without support, the first steps, the list goes on. When one experiences all of these things firsthand, they stay with the person and cannot be safely changed.

I have also learned that as a child grows, the mother will be concerned about whether he is receiving a balanced diet. She will see to it that her child has the best education, wears the best clothes, interacts with the right people, and learns good manners. Everything the mother does tends to be for the child in that if one is not careful, she begins to neglect her own welfare. I have seen this happen many times when she would sacrifice buying a good perfume and opt to buy shoes for my son. Or not buy a type of food that my son does not eat, but something that he will eat wholeheartedly.

It is true that experience is the best teacher, because even motherhood teaches skills and lessons that are not learned in a classroom.