10 Lessons Motherhood Has Taught Me

I’ve compiled a list of the top 10 lessons motherhood has taught me so far. I think you will be able to relate to many of them and a few will even make you laugh or nod your head in agreement.

When you are pregnant with your first baby you read all the books about becoming a mother.

How to feed them, the best ways to get them to sleep and the list goes on.

The time comes to give birth to your wonderful baby and you are ready. Or so you thought!

All the videos and practice of “How to change a diaper” suddenly are no longer relevant now that you’re trying to change a diaper on a wiggly, crying human!

Here are where the REAL lessons in motherhood begin.

1) To Be Humble

You’ve seen us in Target. Moms perusing the aisles with two or more kids in tow. One of the kids is in a complete meltdown in the middle of the toy isle crying and screaming because Mom won’t buy them the toy they have begged for.

In these situations it causes Moms to be humble.

Eyes are watching us, but we are not going to let that deter us from sticking to our decision.

It may be embarrassing in the moment and we are feeling judged by all the watching eyes. But this moment will pass and it teaches us as mothers how to be humble.

2) I’m In Control-NOT!

Have you ever tried to force a three-year-old to eat? Enough said.

3) Self Care Matters

When Mama’s drained it makes the days hard.

I’ve learned self care is important in motherhood.

I can’t continually give joyfully without taking care of myself.

Sometimes it can be hard to take time for ourselves. Mom-guilt may creep in or we just lack the time.

Giving ourselves permission to recharge and relax will help us be the best mom possible for our kiddos.

I have some simple ways that I like to recharge and take care of myself.

Meeting a group of friends at Starbucks before the family is even awake. I’m OK with loosing a little extra sleep to hang out with friends. And I come home ready to tackle the day with a joyful attitude.
Keep a stash of your favorite snack in your bedroom closet. At times the only moment I can take for myself are the few minutes hiding in my closet (until the kids find me). I like to have a bag of peanut M&M’s hiding for just this occasion. 🙂
Escape to the gym for a workout. Walk, run or lift weights. Get your blood pumping to revive your body and mind. I always feel great after a workout even if I started out not wanting to do it. This one can involve the kids. I put my youngest daughter in a jogging stroller and the older two ride bikes. Earbuds are in playing music or a podcast. I can still recharge this way even though the kiddos are with me.

Find something that helps you recharge and brings you joy. Put it on the calendar, swap babysitting with a friend. Don’t feel guilty for taking care of YOU!

4) Patience is Required

“I can do it myself!” my toddler yelled. She was trying to buckle her car seat and I was in a hurry. I pleaded with her to let mommy help but she persisted that she could do it herself. After a few more attempts she did it. I gave her praises and then we were on our way.

Patience is definitely a lesson in motherhood that has to be learned and cultivated. Moms need to have patience in so many situations. A lot of times many things would be done faster if we do them ourselves but then we would be robbing our kiddos of valuable learning opportunities.

5) My Mom Was Right

“You just wait until you have kids…” I can hear my Mom’s words echo in my head as my daughter is having a complete meltdown.

Have you ever been in a parenting moment and thought, “Now I understand what my Mom was talking about?” Me, too.

My Mom had the knowledge and insight of life experience and she just wanted to protect me from the pain of making mistakes. Now I, too, want to protect my kiddos from pain and mistakes. They do listen to my advice sometimes, but just like every child they have to learn from their own mistakes.

Now that I am an adult and mother myself, I have told my mom “You were right.” and thanked her for continuing to love her stubborn daughter. ♥

6) You Can’t Do It Alone

I know we would all love to be Supermom but in reality Moms can’t do it alone. Friendship is needed in motherhood.

When I gave birth to my first daughter we had recently moved into a new house and town. I had left behind two really close friends who were already mothers themselves. Now in a new town I did not know anyone. As a new mother I had a lot of questions about my newborn and motherhood. It would have been really nice to have a friend close by to call and go out for coffee with.

I ended up attending a local MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group and this is where I connected with other Moms in my community. It was so vital to me as a new mother to have the wisdom from other Moms who had been in my shoes.

Friendship is required in motherhood. You need to have a tribe to uplift you, counsel you and correct you. At times we need to reach out for back-up.

Find yourself a great friend and be a great friend. Do this thing called motherhood together!

7) Coffee is Fuel

Last night was not filled with sleep. But morning is here and the day must begin.

Coffee is my fuel each morning. Even on the nights when I do get good sleep I still like to start my day with a cup of hot coffee (or reheated coffee 😋 ).

Coffee is part of my morning routine and gets me pumped to start being productive.

8) Meal Planning Saves My Sanity

Do you ever get to 5 o’clock and think “What’s for dinner?”

That is one place I don’t like to be very often. Kids appetites are like clock work. They know when it’s meal time before they can even read a clock.

I’ve learned that having a meal plan saves me from stress.

Planning out weekly meals keeps our grocery budget on track. When I know what we are eating then I only by the necessary items at the grocery store.

It’s also nice to be able to tell my kiddos exactly what we will be eating when they ask me “What’s for lunch?”

9) Enjoy the Seasons

When we are in the throws of diapers and feeding it can be hard to enjoy that season.

We think “I can’t wait until I don’t have to change diapers” or “I can’t wait until you sleep through the night”.

Inevitably when we have left that season of motherhood we reflect back and wish we were still there; rocking our babies to sleep each night and snuggling them after they had finished the middle-of-the-night feeding.

I’m learning to enjoy the seasons of motherhood. So many parents tell me how I need to savor the moments because they pass so quickly.

I’m going to heed their wisdom and make sure to slow down and enjoy each stage in my kiddos’ lives.

10) Only God’s Love Trumps a Mother’s Love

I’ve gotten a glimpse of what love means now that I’m a mother. The only one who truly edifies love fully is Jesus Christ. I believe that God created mothers to show us His love.

Mothers learn to love sacrificially. We give up our time, we give up sleep, we give up friendships. Mothers give everyday without expecting anything in return. We wait on our own wants to give to our kids.

There is beauty in a mother’s love. The only way we are able to love so deeply is because God loved us first. That is why I say that only God’s love trumps a mother’s love. But it’s a pretty close runner-up 🙂 .

I hope to pass these lessons of motherhood on to my daughters and I will be willing to share them with those who ask. As moms let’s cheer each other on and continually encourage one another on the journey.