How to be the best mother
During pregnancy make sure to eat, but not too much.
Exercice to keep your sanity but not too vigorously.
Cuddle your newborn, but teach him to self soothe.
Breastfeed, breastfeed! But not past one year old!
Carry them in a sling, but only while they are still light.
Spend time together, but share them with others, they need exposure to strangers.
Sleep together while you can, but not too much or they’ll lose their independence.
You have to let them cry, crying is growing up.
So much advice.
I tell myself to follow the rules, listen to my elders, but my heart says otherwise. My mother’s heart beats harder and louder than all of the voices. We only have this one chance to create their life experiences, to teach them about love and attachment.
No, I cannot.
Turn my head away from my natural instincts. To protect, to love, to cherish even when to others it seems too great a sacrifice. Even when I want to listen to my doctors advice, how to protect my mind, keep it safe from dropping back into the obscure. This is at the expense of slipping my beloved son into the dark, to a place where everything he knows goes upside down in the name of independence.
No, I cannot.
I choose love. I choose embracing my beautiful boy, I choose motherly instincts over everything else.
