A new appreciation

Since I've gotten pregnant, I've been telling moms I know how I have a new appreciation for them. The best response I've gotten so far is that that appreciation will only grow! While I always knew that being a mom or even just a parent is one of the toughest calling in life, it's only now that I see how much a mother sacrifices for her child. Presently the sacrifices I've had to deal with are physical and financial ones but as soon as the little one arrives, more will be due!

It WAS also often easy to criticize another person's parenting/mothering style but now that I'm preparing to be a parent I find myself anxious about what kind of a mother I would be. Then there is the concern if baby would be healthy and normal... If I'd have enough milk to nurse him...If he'd turn out to be one of those rascals we see screaming in shopping malls... While I know that these fears and concerns are normal and expected, they are presently very real. I guess you mothers out there would in turn respond that this is only the beginning. And I know that you are right!

Have a happy new year!