Kelsey on…

…Motherhood

Motherhood is an evolution - the birth of new identities merging with others. There are physical and emotional changes - hopes and anticipation, hormones and feelings. So many feelings. And then, it doesn’t go like you planned or expected. You feel sad about it not being what you thought it would; uncertain about what it’s supposed to look like. You’re anxious and not sure what to do. You have days you feel like a mother and others you don’t. Sometimes, you want to feel like something else, like the you before. You want to feel differently. You want to feel better.

It’s time to make motherhood your own.

…Parenting and Reparenting

Taking care of another human being is a lot of work. You find yourself overwhelmed and frustrated quickly with your child(ren), with yourself. You hear others say "self-care is important,” and you believe it, but that’s for later. You’ll figure it out eventually, hopefully. But then stuff happens, something to do, somewhere to be. You wonder what do they need — and then what do I need? How do I meet their needs and why is meeting my own so hard? Parenting your child and your inner child, like a mother is to accept your child where they are; yourself where you are, to offer kindness, support and understanding to whatever comes up.

It’s time to take care of you.

…Grief and Trauma

Things happen in life that hurt like a mother (insert expletive here). Loss, harm, birth trauma and others.. These experiences stay with you even though you don’t want them to, maybe in the form of anxiety, unwanted thoughts, depression, sleep issues, relationship difficulties and more. Every time you think you’ve moved past it, the hard feelings and the pain creep back in, bringing that sense of being unsafe, that feeling of stuckness. So you pull out all the coping skills in your toolbox, but they aren’t working. It’s like you’ve lost control. You’re just going through the motions and you’re disconnected.

It’s time to connect with yourself again.