Young Mothers :: When Everything Changed
A young Palestinian-Jordanian mother from Jordan talks about the challenge, blessing and drastic change of lifestyle brought on by motherhood.
When I knew I was pregnant it was surprising news. My husband and I were planning on waiting for a while before having a baby but God had better plan for us.
My feelings were mixed up — -I was happy, excited, worried and kind of scared of what the future would hold for me with the new addition to our family.
Nine months went fast and it was time to finally see my baby. I’ve thought a lot about this day, I was ready to finally hold my little Hamza in my hands and kiss his little nose, but still, I had no idea what its like being a mom. Initially, I had lots of younger siblings, lots of nieces and nephews, so I thought I’d be just fine, I know enough about kids to survive this I thought.
So, when I came home with this 9 pound baby not knowing what to expect, and with lots of family members eagerly awaiting to help me around…this is truly when my journey into motherhood began.
I thought I knew enough about babies and taking care of them but I quickly realized that I knew so little about being a mother. The baby( Hamza) cried all the time, all day and all night. This was nerve racking and the worst part was not knowing why or what to do.
The crying got better with time but other things became harder — — Raising a child with both my husband’s family and mine was the real challenge. All these “experienced” women who think that they know everything about raising a child and that I’m the new mother who knows nothing. They gave me their advice on several occasions and most the time their advice turned out to be the worst advice:
“ Slap him on his thigh and he will stop peeing in his clothes, yell at him and he will be too scared to not obey”
“Slap him on his mouth and he will stop saying bad words.”
When I refused to listen to them they would try to do these things on their own. They try to convince you in every way possible way that you’re wrong for not doing things their way. Raising a child takes a lot of you, and raising one under such circumstances is even harder.
It’s a life changing experience. I always say, having a child is the end of life as you know it. It changes the way you see everything, your priorities, and even your interests. It’s much more different than I thought. I thought if I knew a lot in theory I’d be fine, but no, it’s more complicated than that. It tests your patience, gives you a lot of work, and long sleepless nights. But after all, it’s the greatest love I ever experienced — -A piece of my heart walking before my eyes. The tiredness and sleeplessness only made me love him more and care more. His first word, his first step, and the morning kiss on my nose brought more joy to my heart than I ever thought exists. Every minute with him is so valuable and precious. It’s the best job I’ve had… for the payment is pure love
