Women for Women

I will start by saying I am exhausted. It's 11:04 p.m. and I don't know how that happened. I'm watching Juliette in the monitor right next to my laptop and, mentally, I am in bed right next to her. As soon as I finish writing this, I will join her. If I start undressing on my way up the stairs, it will take me less than 90 seconds until my head is on the pillow. Ahh..sweet, sweet sleep. (Ignoring the fact that my daughter thinks I am a cat and should just lay there all night with all my nipples available to her whenever she wants them. Good thing she's frigging adorable.)

Before bed, however, I just wanted to quickly say that women rule. We really do. When we band together over something and choose to support one another and help one another (instead of tearing one another down or judging each other), it is awesome. 

Since becoming pregnant, I have joined more "groups" than I have ever belonged to in all my 34 (I mean, 29) years. Some were 'pregnancy groups' with women due around the same time as me. Some are 'single momma' groups with women who obviously have something in common with me. And others are just 'mom' groups based on other common beliefs or traits. I love them all. Complete strangers have made me laugh, cry, and feel stronger than I ever imagined over the last 15 months. These women, most of whom I never have met, have been my go-to support system; whether I ask a quick question from the aisle of a grocery store about which vitamins to purchase, or if I pour my heart out about my world caving in around me before a day in family court, these women are there for me. No questions asked. No judgment. They just respond. They respond with opinions and stories and their experiences - their worlds and hearts and lives are open to me. It's pretty amazing. 

I have learned from these women, these fellow moms, in a risk-free environment. I have tried things I never would have tried and I have become, already, a better mother. Not necessarily because I learned how (and why) to make my own baby food, or because I know I wear my baby the right way, or because I deal better with F - but because they have built me up as a person. As a woman. As a mother. They have opened my eyes to things I didn't know. They have given me choices and research and experiences to back things up. They have built up my confidence so that I can easily handle the "other" people out there with their looks and questions and judgments. ("Oh, you're going to breastfeed right there? In public?" or "Formula and jarred baby food never killed anyone." Or another favorite, "Why don't you let her cry it out?! She'll never learn.")

I would suggest to those "other" people, by the way, to join their own groups. Maybe they'd be happier, more confident in their own ways and less inclined to tear down others. But to women everywhere, I encourage you all to remember that we are a group - we are females. And we must, must, must help one another and build each other up. Many women whom I have never met have made a lasting impact on my life and therefore on my daughter's life - I'm sending a big THANK YOU to all of them right now on both of our behalves. 

Love,
Momeo and Juliette
XOXO