There I was standing in the living room in disbelief, again, as I lovingly looked down at my sweet daughter’s face. I could not believe that I was finally a mom, even two weeks after having her. Suddenly I had a very clear vision and my eyes got huge as I realized that I knew absolutely nothing about taking care of this tiny, defenseless little girl. In just a few heartbeats I was rocked to my core as I realized how little we are taught about how to care for the new lives we bring into this world.
Isn't it funny how we long to become parents and yet it takes having a baby to actually start learning about taking care of them? Here are some of the ways that this realization impacted our lives from that point on.
You were created to do great things through raising your children.
I believe that God used our daughter to open our eyes and to call me back to Him. For years I had been feeling like I wanted to get back to church, like a longing in my chest for that connection, but I had still not done anything about it. After having my daughter that pull was so much stronger and I wanted her to know who He was and what Jesus had done for her. I wanted her to be saved, follow Jesus, and have a love for people like He has for her, to be a light in the world. So I found a church and we started attending when she was 6 months old.
Think outside of the box, stand apart, and stop following the status quo.
Having a tiny baby to care for also had me looking at everything around us and wondering if it was safe, not just following the status quo when it came to her well-being. In the first year of her life we made many lifestyle changes based on what we learned from our own research. One thing we did was remove all toxic chemicals from our home as much as we could. We chose to go a plant-based, all natural route for caring for her health, as well as our own.Today we live in a chemical free home and that baby is now 7.5 years old. She has never had antibiotics, never had ear infection, and has never had to be seen by a doctor for an illness.
Eating crow is not fun, however, it is a great tool to learn humility.
I also learned to be humble after having that little girl. I mean I was 37 and had given advice to my friends who had babies, long before I did, about how to do this or that with their babies. I remember having to call one of my best friends asking for forgiveness because now that I had my own and was experiencing this level of responsibility and love I knew I had been wrong in the advice I had given.
Listen closely to your heart/spirit, our bodies are smart and are even intuitive to our babies needs. It was this that had me moving against the grain and letting go of everything I thought I knew and trusting my gut instincts when it came to caring for our baby.
Oh, by the way, if this has spoken to you and you want more encouraging, uplifting, and supportive information, I have created a community I think you might like! You will find more great tips, empowering birth stories, and the support of a community that will come alongside you through your journey! Click here to join now.
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