Practice Makes Perfect-Enough

Dear 25-year-old me, March 2018, holding my newborn daughter while going to pee, overwhelmed and wondering if this is my new normal.

It's July 2024. This morning, as your third baby slept on your chest, without waking him or moving him from your body, you:

Listed some old clothes to sell online

Made a cup of tea to go

Loaded the dishwasher

Went to pee

Washed your hands, one then the other

Pulled a sling over him

Put on your shoes and coat

And headed to the library.

You will learn; you will adapt. You will grow as much as your babies do. You will try and test many methods and land on what works for you. You, too, will be tried and tested. Repeatedly. But practice makes perfect-enough.

It's a trivial list to many seasoned mothers, but 25-year-old me would never have believed we'd get here, taking it all in my stride (with the odd day of screaming ngl).

New mothers: it's okay to not agree when people tell you "you've got this!". Maybe it doesn't feel at all like you've "got this" right now 😅... but you'll GET this! My mother-in-law can whip up a spectacular 3-course meal for 10 people at a moment's notice, without sweating a drop - she very coolly says "it's just practice". Maybe one day I'll get there too, but for now I'm happy I've cracked balancing a baby on one bicep, his face pressed against my cheek as I lean one way to grab my shoes - and I'm celebrating that today. ❤️