Ezri was extremely tired. We had been at her friend’s birthday party who had just turned a year old. She had been playing, went swimming for the first time, and honestly didn’t get any good naps throughout the day… so she was extremely tired. Not to mention she’s currently teething, and some days is just in a lot of pain.
She began to cry, and it wasn’t a “normal” cry… it was an intense cry. I did everything I knew to do, but I realized I was starting to feel anxious about my daughter being the loudest one at the party. I had no reason to feel anxious, I was around plenty of moms and my friends who love Ezri, and honestly could care less if she was too loud. One of my best friends (we call her the baby whisperer… she’s amazing at handling babies) comes over to me and says, “If you need a break, I can try and rock her to sleep!” Without hesitation I passed her off. I felt my anxiety rising so I thought it would be better to compose myself first. Less than 5 minutes after I passed Ezri off, she quieted down, and finally fell asleep.
My response to that…?
“Why couldn’t I do that?”
I really had to stop myself right then and there. That was a trail that if I had let myself go down, there wouldn’t have been anything good to come out of it. I knew if I kept that way of thinking, I wouldn’t have spoken positively about myself at all.
This happened less than a week ago, and even with it being such a minuscule thing, it really taught me so much. It’s not that I’m not capable of rocking my daughter to sleep, I know I am. I’ve done it hundreds of times. But I needed help… and my friend saw me and knew that. It takes a village to raise a child. Being a mother is the most sacrificial thing I’ve ever done, but if I’m constantly pouring out of an empty cup… how much can I really give my daughter? Even just letting my friend rock Ezri to sleep allowed me to calm down and regain my composure to be able to help Ezri when she needed it next.
That’s why it takes a village. It’s so important to take help when you know you need it. It doesn’t make you any less of an amazing mother to ask for help! It’s a hard thing to do sometimes, but will pay off in the end.
Read More Below
- My Labor and Delivery Story
- My Postpartum Journey
- Grief of What Was
- The Day Time Stopped
- To the Mama Who Tries to Do It All
