A Love Letter to Motherhood - A Mother's Day Tribute

Almost two years later I still find it hard to believe that I have joined the illustrious club of motherhood. Like - God called me to raise up a part of the youth? Crazy.

I look at Olive and reflect on our situation and am awestruck thinking about the person I was pre-pregnancy and who I’ve become since. I am more confident, I am better equipped to handle setbacks, and I love deeper now than I ever imagined was possible. Motherhood changes you (for the better of you let it).

On my journey of motherhood I have gotten to know and be a part of people lives on a similar journey - some have suffered loss, some have experienced challenge after challenge, and some haven’t fully dove embraced motherhood as they are awaiting their first bundle of joy.

The biggest lesson this community has taught me is that motherhood isn’t easy (ha!) and every single story come with a unique set of experiences.

In honor of Mother’s Day, and all of the amazing women I know getting sh*t done and holding down the fort, this is for them… this is for you!

Happy Mother’s Day.

The Moment It Became Real

"I felt like a mom from the moment I saw the “positive” on the pregnancy test, but I really felt like a mom when I was bouncing my baby like a lunatic when her first sleep regression hit at 3 months because that was the only way to calm her down" – LB

Q: When was the first moment you truly felt like a mother?

• Honestly, I’m so excited to be on this journey, and I’m not sure it’s fully hit me yet that I’m going to be a mom. I think there are little moments throughout the days when it randomly sinks in, and I feel this mix of being totally overwhelmed and incredibly excited. It’s such a wild feeling, like I’m ready and not ready all at once. I have a feeling it won’t fully hit me until I’m holding my baby for the first time.

  Nallely Tyler - Expecting First time mom

• Instantly! As soon as Chloe was put into my arms. I was exhausted and drugged up from the anesthesia but the mommy hormones kick in immediately. I remember feeling the mommy instincts alerting me of the slightest danger that could pose any ounce of threat. If you’re a mom, you know what feeling I am talking about.

  Allie Starkweather - Mother of 1+1 on the way 

The Hardest and Most Beautiful Parts

Q: What’s the hardest part of motherhood that no one prepared you for?

• The constant living in worry and anxiety. I never knew the weight of loving someone so deeply could come with such intense fear. The thought of anything hurting my son or the possibility of losing him is something that’s always lingering in the back of my mind—it’s a heavy, emotional part of motherhood that no one really talks about enough.

  Evelyn Hidalgo - Mother of 1

  
  

• Navigating discipline that is aligned with our family’s core values, while not sacrificing fidelity. It’s truly hard. I have been reading a ton on Conscious Discipline which is a theory and framework by Dr. Becky that I highly recommend to any mother and even educator. 

  Allie Starkweather - Mother of 1+1 on the way

Motherhood Through the Years 

"One day, you’re tying their shoes. The next, you’re watching them tie their own wedding vows."

Motherhood doesn’t end when our children grow up—it just changes. It becomes late-night phone calls instead of late-night feedings. It becomes watching them make their own choices and hoping they remember everything you taught them. These are all of the things I reflect on now, that my mother instilled in me as I raise my own child.

Q: What’s a piece of advice you’d give to moms in the thick of it right now?

• Take it day by day. When things feel overwhelming, remind yourself that it’s just a season. Kids are constantly growing and changing, and the challenges you’re facing right now will eventually pass. Try to truly enjoy the sweet moments, even during the chaos—they're only little for so long, and those good parts become such beautiful memories.

  Evelyn Hidalgo - Mother of 1

• Gosh, i never know what advice to give. its so hard because everyone has different opinions and different values and upbringings, but truthfully, the biggest piece of advice I have ever received is to make sure I instill and solidify what our family core values are. Make them clear and establish them early on. Kids, teenagers, and young adults will go through phases, we all rebel, we all evolve but we will always go back to our core values that we were taught. If you have nothing to fall back on, then those are values in itself too. You will be dragged in the wind without anything to solidify you when you are at your lowest. so I guess I would say that to a mom

  Allie Starkweather - Mother of 1+1 on the way

What I Want My Children to Know

"If Olive remembers nothing else I want her to know that I would move hell and earth for her" LB

Q: What do you hope your child knows about you one day?

• I hope she knows that my love for her is completely unconditional. I loved her before I even knew who she was going to be, before I saw her face or heard her voice. No matter what, I want her to always feel that love and know that it was there from the very beginning.

  Nallely Tyler - Expecting First time Mom

Q: If you could bottle up one motherhood moment and relive it forever, what would it be?

• Everytime chloe and I share a good laugh together, look into eachother’s eyes, and she hugs me and says “haiii” i just want to bottle those moments up. 

  Allie Starkweather - Mother of 1+1 on the way

Always Evolving

Motherhood shapes us in ways we never expected. Sometimes we feel like we’re rediscovering ourselves in a completely new light, and other times, we feel like we’ve lost pieces of the person we used to be. But here’s the truth: we are still us—just a stronger, deeper, more evolved version.

Q: How has becoming a mother changed the way you see yourself as a person?

• I am much more loving and accepting of flaws that I grew up hating about myself. I don’t want Chloe to grow up watching me self loathe or hear me speak poorly about myself. Unfortunately my mom did a lot of that when I was younger and well, I'm not blaming her at all, but it did affect how i viewed myself. We both have had our fair share of daddy-issues, if you will and so that also played a huge part in having poor image. My mom and me, that is. Chloe has an amazing father who is super present and loving and I want to reinforce that love by teaching her how to love herself, and that’s only possible if I love myself.

  Allie Starkweather - Mother of 1+1 on the way

Q: What’s something you’ve already learned about yourself during this journey to motherhood?

• One thing I’ve already learned about myself on this journey to motherhood is that I have a new kind of strength I didn’t know I had. The things I used to tell myself I couldn’t do, I don’t think like that anymore. Now it’s more like, “How am I going to make this happen?” I don’t sit and list all the reasons something might not work out. I’ve seen how much my body has changed and adapted, and that alone has made me feel more empowered than ever.

  Nallely Tyler - Expecting First time Mom

Motherhood isn’t just one thing. It’s late-night rocking chairs and early-morning giggles. It’s love in the form of sacrifice, patience, and showing up even on the hardest days. It’s a journey of loss and gain, of change and discovery, of becoming more—even when it sometimes feels like less.

To the moms who shared their hearts in this post, thank you. Your words are a gift to every mother who needed to hear them today.

And to every mother reading this—whether you’re in the thick of newborn chaos, navigating the bittersweetness of grown children, grieving a loss, or simply figuring it all out as you go—you are seen, you are loved, and you are celebrated.

This Mother’s Day, I hope you take a moment to reflect, to breathe, and to feel the love you so freely give. Because no matter where you are in your journey, one thing is true: motherhood is a love that never stops growing.

All the love,

LB