Motherhood – the little moments

There are many moments when motherhood can feel overwhelming – the exhaustion of chronic sleep deprivation, the weight of the responsibility of caring for and nurturing a little one and the mundaneness that often comes with the everyday. There are moments when it can feel lonely and moments when it feels like bedtime cannot come soon enough. And then my babies are asleep and I look at those beautiful little faces and am overwhelmed with love and the realisation once again that motherhood is a beautiful thing, which is something that can be all too quickly forgotten in the challenging moments. And so today, I am going to list some of the little moments of motherhood – those moments when everything just falls into place for one perfect snapshot in time – those myriad moments that make the sleepless nights and the tantrums and the hard work worth it.

 

Me, Jessica and Sophie sitting on the sofa together - "Motherhood - the little moments"

    • The spontaneous little hugs – those chubby little arms squeezing your neck ever so tightly.
    • The words “I love you Mummy” – the most beautiful phrase in the world
    • A little one creeping into your bed at night and snuggling against you
    • Sticky kisses from chocolate-covered faces
    • Big smiles in the morning when they first wake up
    • Sitting on the floor and playing together
    • That feeling of pride when they master a skill for the first time
    • The joy of seeing a child really enjoy eating
    • Beautifully mis-pronounced words – such as “duddle” (cuddle) or “ko-wa-wa” (koala)
    • Listening to them chattering to themselves as they play with toys
    • Getting messy and creative with glue, tissue paper, stickers and crayons
    • Having fun splashing in the bath
    • When they fall asleep in your arms and you can just sit and enjoy having them snuggled up to you.

 

Me cuddling a sleeping Sophie

    • Hearing them laugh
    • Hearing them singing to themselves
    • Going for a walk and holding a little hand in yours
    • The excitement and wonder of Christmas morning
    • Being able to run around the garden in the sunshine
    • When they look at you and their little face lights up
    • Sitting and reading a story together
    • Seeing that look of wonder when they discover something for the first time

 

Jessica gleefully throwing balls in the air in a ball pit

41 thoughts on “Motherhood – the little moments

  1. i totally agree – the chubby arms round the neck and I love yous make everything seem ok!!

  2. Awww, what a beautiful list, I have gone all teary reading it. Sometimes there are so many things to get done and you are so tired you really don’t take the time to realise how special being a parent is and how many magical things we get to witness and share.

    1. Thanks Jenni – it is easy to get lost in the everyday and forget those beautiful moments isn’t it?

  3. Hi Louise, a lovely post and I don’t think there is a Mum who would disagree with your list. Watching my children sleep always filled my heart to bursting point, it’s a feeling that only a parent could know.

    As for chubby little hands, I loved the chubby little everything, I don’t think a day went by when I didn’t blow a raspberry on my daughter chubby thigh (please tell me that was normal!).

    I am probably the most excited on Christmas morning, which the children find endearing and makes them realize that I am worth putting up with.

    1. Thank you Debbie – blowing raspberries on chubby legs and tummies is lovely – I love the chubby baby stage. So glad you liked my post 🙂

  4. Aww so so true!! We really are the luckiest people in the world!!
    After a particularly hard, tiring day, when my baby falls asleep it is the best feeling ever, and I just sit and watch him and am bursting with love!! 🙂

  5. What a lovely post Louise. It really is the little things that make the tough days worth every second. It’s so good to stop and remember from time to time #sharethejoy

  6. Loved reading this, it’s special moments like these that make my day and yet are so easily overlooked.

  7. Loved reading this, it’s good to be reminded that it’s special moments like these that make my day and yet are so easily overlooked.

  8. Such a lovely post, I have had a couple of very challenging days with the kids and you’re so right about remembering the amazing parts of motherhood too as they do outweigh the bad… it’s just that the bad cloud your judgement! Thanks for linking with #MaternityMondays sorry for the late reply, I don’t know how I missed your post yesterday – would have done me good to read it yesterday too! xx

    1. Thanks Caroline, glad you enjoyed it – those challenging days are often the ones that we dwell on aren’t they? I often have to remind myself to focus on the positives too. Lovely to link up to #MaternityMondays again 🙂

  9. A fabulous list indeed, a quote that stays with me is ‘the days. Can be long but the years too short’ and it’s true, all these things on your list will be beautiful memories when our children are forging their own path in life and we are simply there when they find the time thanks for linking up to #thankfulthursday

    1. Thanks Karen – that is definitely a good quote to remember and I do often remind myself that I will miss these little moments when my babies get bigger.

  10. A fab list of some precious moments. I love it when they fall asleep on you…rarely happens anymore but loved baby snuggles. I’m really enjoying my toddler in her kissing phase this week…kissing her grazed knees, her dollies, us, just anything, it’s so cute 🙂 great post!

    1. Ah the kissing phase is adorable. Sophie still falls asleep on me for her nap so will enjoy it while it lasts 🙂

  11. I couldn’t agree more! Amazing really, isn’t it. Our child(ren) hugs are the best ever; o my word! Their feel is incredible; so hard to capture with words. And their smile, and their mispronounced words, and their loud giggles …. on and on and on. What blessings! Thanks for sharing. #MaternityMondays

    1. Thank you – can’t beat those little hugs and those little moments are so precious 🙂

  12. You’re so right Louise, it’s all these lovely moments that make the *ahem* ‘other stuff’ all so worthwhile isn’t it? Love the one about watching your children really enjoying eating – hits something very primal in us I think! Thanks for linking up at #sharethejoy again this week x

    1. Thank you – it is so satisfying seeing my little ones enjoy a meal – making sure our children are well fed is such a basic instinct. Lovely to link up again 🙂

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.