I see how you fear that you aren\u2019t capable of being a good mom. I feel all good moms fear this, too.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

We wonder if we will be able to deal with the challenges, and the largest truth is that we are braver than we think and more human \u2014 and in need of asking for help \u2014 as well.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

I know you have people surrounding you cheering and congratulating, and you deserve this. I don\u2019t think those surrounding you, who are already in the throes of dirty diapers and little kid cuddles, can adequately describe to you why we are so elated.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

I know you see my own stress, and the circles under my eyes. You might be eager for a few parent challenges of your own, but you, understandably, don\u2019t want the way I can\u2019t finish sentences when my kids are running circles around our feet as we talk.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

I want to tell you that these tiny feet have worn more tracks over my heart than anything or anyone else \u2014 nothing has so clearly foot-marked a path of easy love, or difficulty, or gratitude and change; no one besides these tiny soles have quite altered me with such precision.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The biggest change so far has been accepting that I can\u2019t control everything. The biggest revelation has been acknowledging that I\u2019m glad I can\u2019t.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

I might change some things if I could. I might make hurdles move out of the way of these tiny feet \u2014 but these are their lives, not mine, and I\u2019m more grateful than I can explain to you to simply be a part of it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Becoming a part of someone else\u2019s life, on a daily basis, day in and day out, and knowing the smallest of details about one another holds so much magic. Love exists like never before when we are see-through to someone else, and when they are transparent with us. I know it feels scary, vulnerable and raw to love this way, but that\u2019s why this love is like no other.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

I know you don\u2019t know exactly what the future holds, but the real secret is that none of us do.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

I won\u2019t pretend that each day is an easy one, or even that most of them are; loving and caring for children is complex and simple all at once \u2014 it\u2019s not something we can place into perfect words, it\u2019s something we live imperfectly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

I\u2019m so, so <\/em>ecstatic for you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
I\u2019m so ready to see the wondrous look on your face while you watch your coming little one see and hold and know things for the first time. I\u2019m so ready to watch your face light up with this kind of love that I talk about, because I can\u2019t tell you how motherhood feels from the inside (and that parents joke about, because we need to know that other people, too, are going through this mad chaos and this exaggerated love).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
You will be the best mom.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Your child is lucky.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
I\u2019m so happy for you. (And I promise I\u2019ll remind you of this when you need to hear it again, when you\u2019re tired and have your own under-eye circles, and I promise also that I\u2019ll mostly just listen.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
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Our lives are not the same, and neither are our worries. I see how you fear that you aren\u2019t capable of being a good mom. I feel all good moms fear this, too. We...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6522,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[245],"tags":[231,142,252],"class_list":["post-6518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pregnancy-and-motherhood","tag-moms","tag-motherhood","tag-pregnancy"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/jenniferswhite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/67379_442156520196_1501393_n-1.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4dYEp-1H8","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jenniferswhite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jenniferswhite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jenniferswhite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jenniferswhite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jenniferswhite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6518"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/jenniferswhite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6518\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6523,"href":"https:\/\/jenniferswhite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6518\/revisions\/6523"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jenniferswhite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jenniferswhite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jenniferswhite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jenniferswhite.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}