When Did You First Feel Like A Mother? – Being Parents

Since becoming a mom, you’ve likely wondered when you first felt like a mother. It differs from woman to woman, but in any case, it is a very special moment.

It might be when you saw the pregnancy test positive,  or when you first hugged your baby,  or when you felt her first kick.

When did I first feel like a mother?

I will tell you, from my personal experience, when I first felt like a mother. You will surely identify with several of these points.

When I felt it in me

Every time I looked at my stomach or felt her little kicks inside me. Every time I came face to face with my child for the first time, holding him in my arms.

It was then that I felt like someone’s mother, when I felt her warm skin on mine, listening to her little cries, which were still powerful. Looking at and admiring this body that had grown inside of mine.

When breastfeeding and long nights

When I first gave her the breast. When I made mistakes and doubted myself. At this point when breastfeeding seemed both strange at first and wonderful to me.

During those nights when I knew that I would hardly sleep because my baby would need me… Motherhood is not only “when”: it is also “how”.

When my heart breaks

I also felt like a mother when I felt my heart shattering into a thousand pieces. It breaks and reforms itself, very often, because of the same people: my children. My heart broke for fear and for love.

When I cry until I fall from fatigue

What an intense feeling. When I cry until I fall from fatigue, on certain nights, or when I feel that I can no longer cope, because of concerns and fears; I’m afraid, afraid of not doing things well,  afraid that my children will one day go away, without me, in this big world.

When they need me

When they need me to do their hair, tie their laces, change their diapers… When they need me to lie down next to them or take them to the bathroom in the middle of the night. When I clean up their vomit or help them blow their nose.

When I cook, play cards or invent adventures. When they look to me for help figuring out how to have fun or guessing what to eat for lunch. And when I suddenly find a pretty good answer.

When I have to cancel projects

When I couldn’t do something I liked because I was pregnant. When I have to cancel projects because a child has a fever. Or when I’m that friend who can’t come because  I have to put my children’s routine first, to make them feel good.

When I feel their unconditional love

When I feel their love. And when they give me huge hugs or give me unexpected kisses. When they need me; when I’m the only one who can dry their tears or calm their cries. Or when they tell me I’m the best mom.

To be and to feel like a mother …

Being a mother has transformed me, undoubtedly, into a better version of myself. My children taught me to love with an open heart and to choose to see the good in people. To be happy even on those chaotic days which are, in fact, practically everyday. To forgive and to work hard,  to be compassionate, to educate, to be kind, to have an open mind, to be humble …

Caring for people taught me what real disinterest is. Creating a family with my partner and raising these children together has shown me the true meaning of love. Love is what matters most.

So if someone asks me: ”  when did you feel like a mother for the first time?” ”  I will answer that there was a lot of little moments interlaced with other greatest moments. The champions are however:

• When my children were born and when I witnessed the miracle of life coming out of my body.
• When I heard “mom” for the first time.
• And when I feel what only moms feel: energy and fatigue mixed together, frustration and wonder, joy and fear.

This mixture of feelings does not happen every day. Some are more difficult than others, but when I have one of these bad days I feel even more like a mother. I have a mother’s heart and he will always be ready to give everything to my children.

I am ready to protect, to serve and, above all, to love with all my might. And you, when did you first feel like a mother?