A mother is someone’s daughter, a sister, wife and a colleague, much before entering motherhood. She has a lot of side roles to play too like a fashionista, a guru, a perfectionist.
But motherhood shadows all these. She sets aside everything else for the sake of being a good mother. In this journey of motherhood, the action or event that marks a significant change signaling the end of a phase and the beginning of a new one is the milestone of motherhood.
These milestones of motherhood are unacknowledged, though intricately linked with the growing child. When your baby graduates from being spoon fed to being a self-diner, mommy leaves behind days of pureed food and messy eaters.
“Recognizing and celebrating both a child and a mother’s moves toward independence, is a winning strategy for all involved. Identifying moments of reclamation is important to foster a sense of personal accomplishment that can so easily be lost during parenthood’s trying moments,” says Adam G. Stein, a clinical child psychologist in Irvington, New York.
Read more about the unrecognized milestones, the ones that slip by though deserves to be noted and celebrated.
From potty to privacy
Starts from the days you change nappies and diapers. It continues to the never ending days of potty training. Even with a substantial progress, you still wonder, ‘Will she ever wipe her bottoms herself?’
As your little one attend preschool, she learns to do it herself, even requesting you to keep the toilet door shut, just like a big girl. You finally get to use the toilet all by yourself. You have not only potty-trained your child but also won your way to bathroom privacy for yourself.
Car seat struggles
The bucket seat is a great starter seat in the world of baby transport. In the blink of an eye, your tiny tot will graduate to a full-fledged forward-facing car seat. And before you know it, you will have a preschooler who can buckle himself in the car seat and much later a booster. These will be replaced by having family sing-alongs or playing car ‘I spy’ games. You complete a milestone as your child not only gains in height but also independence.
Self-diners
When you spend hours in feeding babies, your own meal time is cut down to half, even eating cold or reheated food. Cooking time seems endless — dicing, pureeing, scooping out and what not. You also check for fun recipes to make food exciting. At a hotel keeping your child from creating noise or messing up the place is an additional task.
Then one day your child sits by himself and enjoys a meal all by himself. Very soon your child forms his own tastes and will also tell you his food preference. Creating a self-diner is a huge milestone as you can focus on your nutrition rather than just your kids.
Beauty basics
You have switched your fashionable tote bag with diaper bags. You must have not even realized when you ceased to use these things. Other things that disappear from your kitty, at the onset of motherhood could include lipsticks and high heels which are easily replaced by lip balms and flats. As your child grows big, you get back to old beauty regimes and guiltless self-pampering.
Sleepy days
You have sung your baby to sleep. Then you walk through the aisle and pat your tot to sleep. Soon bedtime stories replace lullabies. The bed light may no longer be switched on anymore. Barring a few occasions like nightmares and fever, junior soon learns to sleep without going through the usual bedtime routine. You get time to catch up on intimacy with your dear husband reigniting the passion in your married life.
Welcome luxuries
Although it’s liberating to bid adieu to the bare necessities of child rearing, it can also be sad parting away from the many fun memories your child and you have had over the years- the baskets overflowing with toys, high chair, rocking horse and bedtime books. Baby safe amenities are replaced by antique pieces. Luxury living in a well-organised and decked up house that no longer needs to be cleaned up for the umpteenth time.
Word World
You start baby talking with your little one. Then, you realize that she hears and responds to everything you say. You almost spell words like secret codes so your kid should not understand. As she steps into school, your tot is a budding speller and an expert reader. Your child has entered the ‘read all know all’ phase which is definitely impressive.
Mind of their own
Cherish the days when you can doll them up as per your wishes, because as they grow up, you will no longer have a say in their clothes choices. Your child’s fashion sense changes from one cartoon character to the other – for boys superhero and girls princess. Then, all of a sudden, they decide it’s no longer cool. Whatever they choose to wear, it’s their look, their choice. Learning to accept your child as an individual making their own decisions is already a great milestone.
Always take a moment to savor these milestones before moving on to the next. These unsung milestones often pass in the blink of an eye so learn to celebrate them!
Source:
7 Unsung Milestones of Motherhood
