WHAT'S ONE THING EVERY NEW MOM SHOULD KNOW?

If I have one advice to give to every new mom, it is this — you are not doing it wrong, you are just doing it for the first time.

Nobody really tells new moms this part.

Everybody tells you how to hold baby, how to breastfeed, how to bathe baby, what to buy. But nobody tells you that you will have days when you will stare at your baby and still feel confused. Days when you will cry not because baby is crying, but because you are just tired and you don't even know why.

And that does not make you a bad mother.

One thing every new mom should know is that you will not know everything at once. And that is normal.

You will learn as you go. You will make mistakes. You will Google things at 2am like "is it normal for baby to hiccup like this?" You will call your own mother and say "mummy, how did you do it?"

I am not a mum yet, so I am saying this from what I have seen around me. My cousin just gave birth last year. She told me the hardest part was not the sleepless nights. It was the guilt. Feeling guilty for resting. Guilty for not producing enough milk. Guilty for wanting 5 minutes alone. Guilty for not feeling happy every second.

But motherhood is not perfection. It is presence.

Your baby does not need a perfect mother. Your baby needs you. The you that is trying. The you that is there, even when you are tired. The you that sings off-key to stop baby from crying. That you is enough.

So new mama, if you are reading this — e go better. You are not alone in feeling overwhelmed.

Ask for help when you need it. No be shame. Let someone hold baby while you sleep small. Eat well. Drink water. Cry if you need to cry. Then clean your face and continue.

You gave life. You are still healing. You are still becoming.

Give yourself the same grace you give your baby.

Because one day you will look back and realize you did not just raise a child — you also raised yourself.

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