Becoming a mother is one of the fastest ways to turn your life completely upside down. There's being up all night, the hormone changes, and don't even get me started on all the poop. It's a rewarding experience, but it also comes with its own trials.
Ingebritt ter Veld captures these experiences perfectly on the site, Hippe-Geboortekaartjes.
Pregnancy really messes with your bladder in the worst way possible.
You don't know a good nights sleep until you've had to get up a hundred times in the middle of the night to pee.
If you're reading this and you're pregnant for the first time — make sure you get as many pillows as you can.
You're gonna need 'em! Amirite, mamas?
Embrace the sleep while you still can!
And that's OK — you're growing a human being for goodness' sake. You're allowed to have moments of weakness here and there, you know.
There are so many things that we go through during pregnancy that we can all relate to.
People that give you the creeps, might just be at the top of everyone's list — or at least on it.
You hear all these horror stories from the pregnant woman who have come before you... and there really is no preventing any of these things.
But it probably will be. According to Parents.com, "The fear of pooping during labor "comes up nine times out of ten -- at least!" says Marie Bigelow, a staff doula at Boise Women's Health & Birth Center in Idaho. "And having a bowel movement during pushing is extremely common."
And a totally normal part of everyday life for you, believe it or not.
Your body goes through a lot during birth, and it doesn't all heal itself immediately, even though in movies and television it all looks so glamorous post-baby.
Even though some of them are completely awful!
Being a mom is all about taking the good with the bad.
And you won't care because you'll know that you grew a human being and the miracle that is your body will provide food to keep that baby alive.
So to sum it up — you're basically a super hero.
That's right — drunk puking has nothing on a baby with a full stomach and impeccable aim.
Seriously... no one knows hard work and dedication like a mother who has just pumped for hours to produce a week's worth of breast milk to freeze.
And that makes the entire world more stressful. Don't let the big problems get you down too much, mamas, you'll be sleeping properly again someday.
Just seeing their smiling faces or listening to them calling out for you makes every poopy diaper, every all-night crying episode, and the total destruction of your body seem like absolutely nothing.
Moral of this story:
