So here’s a big question for all married couples: How do you know when you’re ready to have kids?
You can read my thoughts in my latest column.
Meet Ginny Kubitz Moyer
I write about faith, real life, and how the two intersect. Check out my latest book Taste and See: Experiencing the Goodness of God with Our Five Senses.-
I have recently been through a crash course in daiper changing and baby car seat installation – for both of which I had to call in reinforcements (I still laugh to remember my husband, the engineer, baffled at his inability to figure out the car seat instructions)…all thanks to my eagerness to spend time with my godson, Eric. My first reaction to these incidents was, I guess I’m not as ready to be a mom as I thought I might be (being an older sister and former babysitter, I thought I had certain things down)…but a recent conversation with my grandmother – who as long as I can remember has shown expert child rearing abilities – helped to soothe my worried mind. Apparently, when my mom (her first child) was born, she knew nothing. She would walk down the street to her mother’s house to bathe my mom every afternoon, because at the beginning, she didnt’ trust herself to prevent the squirming baby in her arms from drowning! I couldn’t believe it…she’s grandma (wise woman and knowledgeable of all things motherly), it never occurred to me to realize that, at one point, she was a nervous new mom who also had to call in reinforcements.
So, while we’re waiting to have children for other reasons, not being ready has definitely been crossed off the list. However, when that day does come, I definitely plan to have mom (and hopefully grandma too) on speedial.
I am the mother that hopefully will be around when that situation will arise I laght so hard because that is my daughter. Thank you Mother for allow me to enjoy things like this. Sacred Heart of Mary I trust in you.
I LOVE that story, Viki (and Mercy, thank you for your comment too!). I had to smile too because that anecdote totally rang true for me — those first few weeks after Matthew was born, I relied on my mom for SO much advice and help. It was a really scary thought to imagine that I was suddenly in charge of this tiny newborn, when I had literally no idea what I was doing. People say that women have a natural knowledge about how to care for a child, but I’m not sure that’s true — there was a huge learning curve for me. ( Oh, and I still struggle with putting carseats in. I let my husband do that. 🙂 )