New Mom Guide: Being a first time MOM

It's the best, yet the hardest. It's rewarding, yet draining. When I was pregnant, I was most pampered. As soon as I became a mom, everything changed. I wasn't the center of attention anymore.

It didn't hurt me a bit, because the entire attention shifted to my baby Aahan.

Wow! I was relieved after I gave birth. I thought, “The hard part is over" Little did I know, the hardest part just began.

Slowly, as days progressed and brought in new challenges, it became harder and harder to cope with the anxiety, the restlessness and the sleeplessness. It was easy for me for the first 6 months. My baby and I slept a lot; I didn't have many chores to do. He was exclusively breastfed so I didn't have to worry about his meals and nutrition.

But then at 6 months, he started slithering (he didn't crawl at first) and he'd just disappear in a blink. He kept me on my toes, all day, every day. It was exhausting. Then he started crawling. And boy! That was no joyride either.

Within no time, he started walking. He doesn't want to be held anymore. I always have to make sure he stays out of trouble. He fights, bites and kicks and throws the nastiest tantrums sometimes.

There's one such incident that happened a couple of days back- he wanted to run and I kept blocking his steps. He dodged me at a go and ran towards the table and hit his head. His steps are still a little waddle and imbalanced.

Instantly I had this huge guilt in me - even though I knew I couldn't have done anything. He kept on crying and I didn't know if he hit himself that hard or he was mad at me. I didn't know if his brain could process such a complex thought for this behavior.

As I was sitting there, upset, and trying to get over it, he came close to me, kissed my cheek thrice and called "mama". It was as if, he was ready to let go of that incident, and he wanted to make up. All my guilt, all my sadness went away. I smiled at first, for his sake, and then I smiled some more...for real.

And then I realized - guilt is the biggest thing that was keeping me so low, but instead, if I chose to be joyful, to be grateful for what I have, it wouldn't be so bad anymore. I'd take one day at a time. All the bad incidents will pass, only the hugs, the kisses and the "mama"s will stay. ❤

All the new moms out there, please stay joyful and enjoy your motherhood.