The Mom Series is going international! Natasha is next up on the Mom Series! She is a mom of one baby girl, her family currently lives in Hungary. She is also in the blogging world – her blog is all about her experience and expertise in the kitchen. There, she shares tons of amazing recipes – often focusing on gluten free and budget friendly recipes. Check out her space here!

I love her perspective and honesty surrounding the challenges of motherhood. She and her husband initially thought they wouldn’t have any children – she was always anxious about the aspect of childbirth. They ultimately changed their minds and now she’s realizing that childbirth is just the first challenge that comes with this crazy journey of motherhood!

Welcome – Natasha!

My name is Natasha, I am 28 years old. I live with my husband who we have been married to for 1.5 years. We have one baby girl who is currently 6 months old. While she is so young, I am staying at home to take care of her.

Motherhood Journey

Since I was a little girl, I firmly decided not to have any children because childbirth seemed so painful and almost impossible to go through. However, as years went by I started dreaming about having a big family, teaching my children the ways of life, and seeing them go through all the stages of childhood. I guess I just avoided thinking about the way they would come into this world!

I was 26 years old when we got married. We did not have a “deadline” by which we wanted to get pregnant. One day we just thought “why don’t we have a baby?” So, after three months of being married, we started trying for a baby.

I guess getting pregnant was the easiest part of the whole journey. We got a positive pregnancy test that very first month of trying. We were excited, it was something neither of us has ever experienced before. There is something miraculous and wonderful about the mystery of a little life that is growing inside of you!

Unexpected things since becoming a Mom

I think the biggest misconception I had before giving birth is that the actual delivery is the most difficult part of the first couple of years of motherhood. When I was pregnant, the main thing I focused on was childbirth. I watched a lot of birth stories on YouTube and read articles from other moms. Thinking about what to do after the baby was born was not even on my radar. I just thought that understanding would come naturally!

One thing that was unexpected to me is how busy I would be all the time. Before having a baby I thought being a stay-at-home mom would not be that hard. I thought the baby stage would be easy as they say that infants sleep 15-18 hours a day. It confused me when other young moms complained about not getting sleep. “Your baby is sleeping for most of the day, what are you doing that you can’t get enough sleep?” I thought. Oh, how wrong I was!

Another interesting reality I learned is that you get the strength to do the things on your plate as you go. At first, it seemed very hard to just keep the baby alive. I did not do anything around the house for the first couple of weeks. Even bathing the baby every day sometimes seemed too hard to me. However, I still remember that day when I was able to get our little girl to sleep outside in the baby stroller and then found time to clean the house a little bit. It felt like a breath of fresh air to be able to do something other than hold a crying baby, breastfeed, or change diapers.

Now I am able to find some daily personal time, cook food for my family, do laundry, and spend time with my husband. The important thing is to add things to your plate gradually and take good care of yourself as you do. This is what resilience is all about!

Hardest thing since becoming a Mom

At this point of having one baby of 6 months of age, I think the hardest thing is not getting enough sleep. It is getting better as time goes by but I have to be intentional about going to sleep on time to be able to function the next day. However, if I do find myself exhausted I use the opportunity to sleep during the baby’s nap times. I leave productivity for another day!

Favorite thing about being a Mom

My favorite thing about being a mom is having an important mission for this stage of my life. What we invest into our kids now will bring fruit years down the road. Another great thing I see in motherhood is the refinement of my character. I notice that I am able to be more resilient, responsible, patient (sometimes), and diligent in the things I do even if they don’t directly relate to raising children. Having a child forces you to care for another person even when you are tired, not interested, or not in the mood. This kind of consistency refines one’s character and it shows in the other areas of our lives!

Favorite thing to do with your baby

My daughter is only 6 months so I can pretty much only play with her on her little carpet and help her learn to roll from side to side, grab toys, etc. I really like our playtime! My daughter has a hip problem so she has to wear a certain hip holder for some time until her bones take proper shape. It is only a matter of months so we are looking forward to when that will no longer be needed. But for now, we can take it off for four hours every day and we take advantage of those times to use it for play and development time!

Favorite thing to do without your baby

Whenever my baby goes to sleep I love to have my time alone to reflect and read or work on my cooking blog that I started a little over a year ago. I love learning new things and being creative as it helps me feel that there is more to life than holding babies and changing diapers!

Anything you miss about life pre-baby

I miss having days off. When I was single I could just take a day of rest to recharge and replenish my strength. Now every day is a day of work in one way or another. I can’t just sleep in and lay in bed for most of the day. I need to cater to the needs of those in my household. Even though it is taxing and challenging at times, I do learn a lot in the process. I must admit that when I do get a chance to rest now, that time is so much sweeter than when my workload was lighter. The more tired you are the better you sleep!

Another thing I miss is spontaneity. Before getting married and starting a family, I could wake up one day and start contemplating visiting a certain country or even moving to another place. I could think about those things, plan them out, and bring them to fruition. Now I feel more limited in the things I can do. But, if I had to choose I would rather have my family than the freedom of moving around the world!

Anything you would tell your pre-baby self

I would tell myself that no matter how hard things will get at times, you will find strength and refreshment at the needed moment. I would encourage myself that even though raising children is hard, it has its own beauty and things do become easier as you get into a more stable routine. Another thing I would tell myself is to take better care of myself during pregnancy. I kind of let go of a healthy diet at the end of my term and ate unhealthy amounts of sugar on the daily basis. If I could go back and change something, this for sure would be one of those things!

Favorite age so far

With my baby being only 6 months old I would say the older she gets the more fun it is to interact with her. I can’t wait to see her run around and listen to her talk about anything and everything!

A must have baby item

In my opinion, one must-have item is a white noise machine or white noise application on your smartphone. It helps your baby calm down and fall asleep if for some reason he or she cannot soothe themselves. White noise phone application helped us so many times! I especially appreciate having it when our baby girl feels restless after a nighttime feeding. All we need to do most of the time is to play some white noise for her and the next thing we know she is deep in her sweet sleep and we can go to sleep as well!

Another item that has been my daily go-to is a baby reclining chair. Whenever I am cooking or doing something else where I can’t always have the baby on me, I put her in her little reclining chair and she can be with me while I have my hands free!

Thanks for your participation Natasha! Now to head over to her blog and try a new recipe!

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