When planning for a baby and a family , women often worry about how their lives are going to change once they give birth and have kids. For many moms, life does change almost immediately when giving birth . We now have a tiny human to look after and take care of, support, love, and nurture. It’s no longer just us against the world— it’s us and our baby now.
When going through the journey towards motherhood, many people have doubts.
During pregnancy and even when trying to conceive, many women wonder if they will “lose themselves” in motherhood. We all hear horror stories where women feel like they are no longer who they once were after their kids.
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Some wonder if they will lose their passions or career.
When we have a baby, some of us are also worried that we no longer will have the energy or the time to do the things we used to every day. Some even worry that their passions and careers will slip away because we have to give ourselves to our kids.
As it turns out, we definitely do change with motherhood.
After having a baby, there’s no denying we change as people and our lives change entirely. In fact, it’s almost impossible not to. Our hormones and our bodies most definitely change, and, our priorities do too.
We no longer have all the “free time” we once did.
When you wake up in the morning and think about your daily plans pre-baby, you have an entire open schedule where you can do whatever you want to do. But, after having a baby, your life revolves around them and their needs.
Some of us feel like changes can be bad.
Less time, less sleep, less, well everything, can seem rather scary—almost bad. However, some people don’t really believe that we change with motherhood other than “surface” things.
If we ever needed any proof, science says it’s all a fact.
While we know for a fact that our lifestyle changes, scientific research also indicates that our brains actually change after giving birth, too. Apparently, female mammals undergo “fundamental changes” during pregnancy in their brains.
Pregnancy hormones can actually alter our brain’s chemistry.
The research indicates that pregnancy hormones can have lasting impacts on the brain and even increase the size of neurons in some regions. It can also create and produce structural changes in other areas of the brain, too.
While some can see that as a negative thing, it can be positive, too.
Scientific research showcases that the changes in our brain don’t always have to be negative and bad. In fact, some studies showcase that pregnancy hormones can impact our memory in a good way —improving it.
Studies also showcase it increases our ability to learn.
Sure, we may have been excellent students as kids and loved the ability to learn and grow. But, science says after pregnancy, our ability and love to learn only increases as we grow with our children.
Many moms say that after kids, their ability to multitask changes.
Once we have a baby, even multiple kids, our abilities tend to change and some of them get better. Like, for example, multitasking and taking care of our kids along with the rest of our life duties and needs can bring us to a place of growth.
Moms mention that time management becomes a good skill.
Time management may be something that many people struggle with. But once they have kids, moms say their time management skills get much better. This is because they have to juggle the challenges of motherhood along with being a wife, friend, daughter, etc.
Mothers also say their “heart grows.”
Motherhood brings a newfound love into the world having a baby in the picture. Many mothers share they never loved anything quite like they love their children and it has opened their eyes to how much they can love and be loved in return.
Others say they are very vulnerable since having kids.
Whereas before, people had a tough exterior and some moms had their guard up with the world, having kids brings you down a few notches and makes you a bit more vulnerable with everyone, especially our kids.
All in all, changing can be a good thing.
Change, while it sounds scary and crazy, can be a positive thing and teach us new things about ourselves we didn’t even know. Sure, our bodies change and we may not “recognize” ourselves, but the interior changes make us a stronger person.
The next time you feel down, look at all of the positive things that come along with motherhood.
We may be tired, we may have stretchmarks, we may have sores and aches, but along with all of those things, we have a whole lot to be proud of and thankful of.
