DD initiated life awakening

[cutiemom]

Since my dd (10 months) was born, I have been having profound realizations about my life. It is now apparent to me that I was not living my life to the fullest. I feel so much more in touch with myself and others. I'm shy and have always had a difficult time making friends. I would sometimes blame others. However, I now totally understand that I need to take initiative and open up.

I feel as if I wasn't true to myself before and that I didn't make every day count. I now try to reach out to others and have more fun.

My husband has issues and has been seeing a counselor. My dd did not cause his problems, but I believe that she has caused us to make positive changes in our lives.

I'm so happy now and look forward to experiencing life the way it ought to be done. Has anyone else's children affected them in this way?

My dd is such a blessing and has given me so much strength.

Cutiemom

[wolfmom]

hi cutiemom! I can identify!! Before ds was born I was way too focused on not really important things. Now I don't worry about the unimportant stuff as much and I really prioritize. I even put aside housework for ds! (I am a little bit of a neat freak!) I actually had a very life altering experience after he was born but I don't have time to write it all out right now. I promise I will soon though. Thank g*d for these amazing beings that teach us so much!!

-wolfmom

[granolamom]

My children "raised" me as much as I raised them. I am, who I am because I was blessed with the gift of being there mom.

Granolamom

[Piglet68]

My DD has helped me to understand what sacrifice is, even though admittedly it doesn't really feel like sacrifice.

There are days when the sun is shining and the air is heady and I think, as a reflex from my pre-baby days, "today would be a great day to be at the barn" (I'm a horse nut). And then I think well, I've quit riding for a while b/c it was a huge commitment and I want to devote myself entirely to my DD while she is young. And I look back on all the years of riding I did before her, and then I dream about the years we have ahead of us, maybe even with her by my side, and I realise that these few short years of devotion to my baby is nothing. I miss riding, but at the same time I have no desire to do it right now b/c I'm so enjoying being a mother.

I'm not skiing this winter either.

I don't think I would have understood this before I had DD. In fact, I'm embarrassed to say that I probably would have looked down on a woman for giving up her life for her baby (god how totally ignorant I was!!) Now I truly understand it in my heart, what it means to devote myself to mothering. And it is so very satisfying and fulfilling.

And yeah...she's taught me the priceless value of motherhood!

[Susan123]

Yes, definitely. I was just telling someone the other day about feeling like that. I think it's because as I think about what I want for DS, what kind of a life I want to show him, then I examine my life and see all that I'm missing out on. Having DS has made me recognize again all the things I let go of, but now want to be in touch with again, like experiencing nature, traveling, opening up with close friends. It's been very life altering for our whole family.

[Friendlymama]

For me, the love I feel for my daughter has opened me up to the rest of the world and made me care about it so much more. The environment, violence, war, etc., all these things are of utmost concern to me now - not just for my daugther's sake, but for her daugther's, and her daughter's, and all the daughters (and sons) in the world. Through my love for her, I feel so connected to all mothers and their children - those before me and those after. Realizing this connection has been the most transforming aspect of motherhood for me.

I not only feel part of the world in a way I never did before, but a real obligation to care for it, and to protect the mother-child bond now and forever.

[momatheart23]

Before I was a mom I ate crappy, put up with way too much, didn't really think about my health at all unless I was in pain. I also thought moms who breastfed for more than a year and co slept were making their babies too clingy and needy. Now I am a health fanatic, eating only whole nutritious food. I study and study about health. I am more aware of every decision I make. I stand up for myself, and my family. I know that he won't become the person I want him to be unless I model it. Everything that is important has become so, and the irrelevant details that I once fixated on have become irrelevant. I also don't am more careful of who I have in my life and the energy that is around us. My son is my teacher as much as I am his.

[Piglet68]

Originally posted by Friendlymama
Through my love for her, I feel so connected to all mothers and their children - those before me and those after. I...feel a real obligation to care for [the world] and to protect the mother-child bond now and forever.

Wow, friendlymama - that was SO well-said! And I totally feel that way, too. Especially with all these threats of war, all I can think about are the mothers and babies of Iraq. Watching the news has been a whole new experience for me now that I'm a mother.

[Bearsmama]

Cutiemom-I TOTALLY hear you! We had a rough time with DS in the early months. I was utterly exhausted for probably the first 8 months (and still really, really tired). I also think that I was suffering from some PPD for a few months-so needless to say, it was not these 'magical' time for us as a family. It was rough. But even in the roughest moments I knew that if I listened closely enough there would be HUGE lessons to learn.

I can totally relate to the the being shy stuff. Although I'm not shy, I always thought that I was this friendly, open person. Now, I've realized that although I may be friendly, I can be a little stand-offish. And that I don't reach out. I guess it's a fear thing-you know, that whole fear of rejection thing. But since having DS I've tried really hard to let go of all that.

I am much truer to myself now-or at least I try to be. I won't take as much crap from people. And I try to tell people how I really feel.

The true meaning of life has revealed itself to me. And it's when DS is babbling, or running around the house or nursing. And I have such moments of utter clarity and a moment of calm. I wish we could bottle these feelings. I wish these feelings could just stay with us all the time even on those frustrating days.

So, YES, MAJOR epiphanies EVERY DAY