The other day I was talking with a girl friend from back home. She is a first time mom and an amazing one at that!

After gushing over photos of our newest additions, we started talking about the final days of her maternity leave. I offered my support and unsolicited advice from returning to work after my first. She acted like I was some sort of super hero {the free mama would be a good super hero name…} and then said “You make it look easy. Plus, you didn’t even take a break from work after you had Audrey. How do you do it?” I was flattered, but also a bit confused by the time we got off the phone.

That same day I got a text from another friend. She’s a mom of three, but has had very difficult pregnancies and some struggles breastfeeding.  I’m always happy to share my experiences, but frequently remind her that I’m hardly an expert and she may want to visit a lactation consultant. Then she texts back, “You’re an expert to me! I don’t know how you nursed each of your kids so long.”

I’ve been getting these types of comments a lot lately from other moms now that I’m toting around 3 kiddos and running a small business.

How do you do it?

I usually laugh it off.

I mean, as moms, we all just somehow – do. Right?

Seriously, think back to life before children for a moment. If you’re like me, it’s almost difficult to do! What did we do with all of our time and money back then?

When we become mothers, suddenly everything changes. We go from carefree to caretaker for a helpless, beautiful little being who depends on us for every teeny tiny thing.  What used to be a quick trip to Target now takes two hours, because heaven forbid you leave the house without every possible item your baby could need while you’re gone.

And yet, we get settle into the craziness of parenting. Some of us do so quicker than others, but in time we all adjust to our new normal by simply doing.

Our lives are forever changed.

We continue to parent – and do – the best way we know how both intuitively, and by learning from others.

So to my friend heading back from maternity leave, I have a question for you…

How do you do it? How do you slow down and cherish the moments with your first child so deeply and lovingly? And how do you shut out the busy world around you, the work that I’m sure is piling up on your desk back in your office, to enjoy these fleeting moments as a new mother without stress or worry inching in?

To my friend who is struggling, how do you do it? How do you stay so committed to something that is so challenging for you? How do you continue to work so hard so selflessly for your children when you yourself are still healing?

And to all of the other moms out there, how do you do it? Because I’d really like to know.

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