Five Things Expectant Moms Should Know

All the parenting classes in the world can't teach you everything there is to know about being a mother. Some things you simply have to learn on your own. I'm a grandmother. I still haven't learned everything there is to know about parenting. You will laugh. You will cry. You will think you are incapable. You will praise your intuition. You will wish you had followed it. Being a mom is both the best and the worst experience you will ever have. I can't guarantee you will love it, but I'm certain you will be grateful for it. Best of all, you will learn these five important lessons.

1. Everything is worse than you think it will be. Those 2 a.m. feedings are every bit as bad as you think, and then some. You will cry out for merciful sleep. Your child will most certainly spew something nasty on you or the floor at least a hundred times in their lifetime. The duty of cleaning it up is also yours. You will pace the hall for days with a screaming baby in your arms, no relief in sight. There will be bad report cards and bullies. You will wait up until the wee hours of the morning wishing they'd call and praying they're still alive. Expectant moms will eventually face all their worst fears.

2. Everything is better than you think it will be. You will stare into those eyes and be changed forever. You will laugh when they laugh. You will dance when they dance. You will feel their triumphs like only a mother can. You will cry tears of joy at every turn. Your heart will swell with pride and soar to new heights when they hand you a picture they've drawn or earned an A in that subject you thought they'd never understand. Even when they're grown, you will burst into tears when you are proud of them because that's what moms do.

3. You will find out what it really means to love. You will experience incomprehensible joy when you give birth to your child. That joy will continue throughout your life and live on through them when you have gone from this world. Your child was once, and is always a part of you. They are your heart. They are your soul. They are your dreams, your reality and yes, they are your finest creation. They exemplify you. When you invest your love, your time and all your good intentions in your child, it will come back to you a million times over. Having a child is the greatest form of love you will ever offer anyone.

4. You will find out what it really means to be hurt. No person on the face of this earth can hurt you like your own child. An insult from them is like a knife to the heart. Any resentment they harbor toward you in the teen years is a dark shadow invading your soul. Seeing them hurt is worse still. It will bring you to your knees. When they move away, a huge piece of you will leave with them. Whatever harm, evil, hatred or neglect you perpetrate on your child, you will receive back multiplied by infinite numbers. The least mistake you make with your child will haunt you for eternity.

5. Regrets are futile. For better or worse, once you have brought a child into the world, there is no turning back. You are a parent for the rest of your life. It doesn't stop when they come of age or leave the nest. Once you make a mistake with your child, you can never take it back. Likewise, you can never take back the love or remove them from your heart. You will worry about and praise them for the rest of their life and the rest of yours. They will remember you and feel your presence long after you have gone from this earth. Expectant mothers should know to always love and nurture their children as if it were the most important job on the face of the earth; Because it is.

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