Your Guiding Light In Motherhood – Your Own Intuition by Adrianna Pearce
Congrats mama, let’s take a minute to take stock, to take in the enormity of this wonderous achievement of having a baby and whether, for you that was six weeks or six years ago, it needs to be anchored in, appreciated and celebrated, at least by you in this very moment.
What a beautiful awe-inspiring occurrence it is to have created a human being (or beings) that is made up of you, your ancestors your baby daddy (in whatever shape and form this may be), his ancestors; a perfect combination of DNA, generational biology and fate. Your baby’s unique personality mapped out already, and you are on this journey, peeling back the layers year by year as you see your baby grow, and change, and ultimately present themselves day by day, week by week, year by year.
It is a heart connection like no other, a soul connection, an instinctive knowing, that you have perhaps met each other before. So following your intuition should come naturally right? Not always, sometimes even when there is something that you literally made, (like a baby) it can still feel like you are strangers. Or else feel like you are unsure what your baby needs, or what to do at a specific moment in time.
For some mums, parenting is the most natural thing in the entire world, and things are in flow and in synch and seem to pan out naturally, and that is a beautiful thing. There are still challenges for this mamma but she trusts her intuition and has conviction in her decisions.
It can be an overwhelming, crazy time, with hormones, emotions and a myriad of feelings flying around. Combine this with the littlest amount of sleep you’ve ever had in your life, and it is normal to feel a bit out of control, and perhaps even confused as to where your intuition is. Instincts and intuition are like a guiding light, the answer, the right answer for you. In those early days with new baby, you are both still getting to know each other, it is ok not to feel a euphoric high, it is ok to have mixed emotions, it is totally normal and ok to feel almost in shock about your birth, how you have just created this beautiful human spirit into the world. Your intuition as a mother may also be a bit jumbled. Our intuition can also get lost in all of the advice you get given from everyone from the cleaning lady (lucky you), to your next-door neighbors daughter (who has three kids under 4 mind you) or else the mother in law who raised five kids, in a depression, with no Uber Eats, cleaners or Ipads. The baby doesn’t come with a manual, and if you classify google as your go-to source, you’ll inevitably cause yourself extreme anxiety and no doubt end up going down the rabbit hole of information to come out the other side just as confused, with no answer and 30 mins of your life that you won’t get back.
Some mama’s like to read everything possible to be well equipped and in control when the baby comes and that is fine too, but the challenge with this is you don’t know what your baby will do or what it will be like, so being knowledgeable is one thing, but being prepared isn’t entirely possible when you have a baby who is unpredictable. It is a great leveler for perfectionists and controls freaks. In a sense, you may as well throw those books out the window, as every baby is different and every baby will do exactly what it wants when it wants, and you need to let go of any expectations, and take it one day at a time, trusting your instincts.
Remember your baby is made BY you, FOR you, and you two will give and take, and do a little tango together, back and forth as you learn and grow together in a perfect, mismatched, and sometimes awkward dance. When you feel like you are drowning with all of the noise, information and advice, just remember you have the answer inside of you already, you just need to listen, to really embrace what you already know. Which reminds me of the Wizard of Oz quote with Dorothy’s slippers “You have always had the power, my dear, you’ve had it all along”.
Adrianna Pearce is a mum to two children, a dreamer and an ocean and coffee lover. Born at 24.5 weeks gestation, she lives by a philosophy of gratitude and intention that propels her forward to help others and to live with purpose. She Co-founds a Not for Profit in Adelaide, that connects people for friendship across generations www.uniity.com.au Adrianna is also passionate about branding that gets to the essence of people’s purpose in business with her consultancy Muse Creative. On the weekend you will find her exploring South Australia with her family. Follow her family adventures @gypsyheartadventures