
By: Melissa Roy for Beyond Mommying.
I’m a mummy to four and have been at this parenting thing for over seven years but that certainly doesn’t make me an expert. I definitely don’t have all the answers and I am by no means a perfect mummy. But I have been a new mum for the first time and three times since then and through those experiences and time with my babies, I have developed a bit of wisdom.
If I could talk to every new mum before they begin their mummying journeys and give them any tiny bit of advice and encouragement, this is what I would tell them:

1. It will be overwhelming.
No matter what parenting choices you make: breastfeeding, bottle feeding, co-sleeping, sleep training, stay-at-home, go back to work…the magical mixture of new mum hormones, exhaustion, cultural pressure and self-doubt will at some point feel like too much to handle. It happens, it’s normal, we all feel it, every time.
2. Nothing lasts forever.
At some point you’ll struggle with some part of your parenting journey or feel completely inadequate as a new mum. You’ll doubt every decision you’ve ever made and will beat yourself up over it. You’ll just want to run away from it and will dream of the day when it’s over. And that day will come. Eventually, every phase and hardship will pass.
Nothing lasts forever.
3. Really - nothing lasts forever.
One day you’ll look back and wonder where the time has gone. You’ll long for those tiny little new baby snuggles. You’ll wish your toddler would just sit still for one stinkin’ minute! You’ll dream of when your child might once again believe everything you tell him/her. It will seem like the days are flying by and they are growing and changing before your eyes.
