mamashonestjournal

Before motherhood, I never truly saw myself having children. It wasn’t something I dreamed about or planned for my future. I loved my independence, my freedom, and the life I had built for myself. Becoming a mother wasn’t an identity I imagined wearing one day.

Everything changed when I experienced pregnancy.

Carrying life, feeling my body create and protect another human, and experiencing a kind of love I had never known before shifted something deep within me. Pregnancy itself felt magical, not in a picture perfect way, but in a way that grounded me and opened my heart in ways I didn’t know were possible.

Motherhood taught me what true love actually means. Not the conditional kind, not the convenient kind, but unconditional love. The kind that shows up even when you’re exhausted, overwhelmed, or running on very little sleep. The kind of love that puts someone else’s needs before your own without resentment.

I always considered myself a strong woman before becoming a mom. I was independent, resilient, and capable. But motherhood didn’t just test my strength, it refined it. It made me a better woman and a better person overall. It softened me where I needed softness and strengthened me where I didn’t know I was weak.

One of the most profound lessons motherhood taught me was the shift from being selfish to being selfless. Life stopped being only about what I wanted or needed in the moment. My heart expanded to make space for someone else entirely. And in that selflessness, I didn’t lose myself. I found a deeper version of who I was always meant to be, a mom.