22 Comments

Beautiful. I love the name, the sentiments and all you have written. So here for all of this and am looking forward to reading more xx

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Thank you so much friend! I appreciate you always reading and commenting, I look forward to it ❤️

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Wow! You have articulated so much here, so well. Your vision and purpose is strong. I am 4 years and 2 babes into motherhood and only now do I feel myself ‘settling down’ into my intuition, my calm, into myself because now mother is part of who I am not something I’m trying to become ‘good’ at. I still feel like an exhausted servant (ha! too-true description) but am working on that. Thanks for cultivating this space.

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You are so welcome! I still feel like an exhausted servant sometimes. Thank you for being here.

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I can feel my heart opening as I read this. Thank you for your vulnerability Emma. There is so much about motherhood we do not say...

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You’re so welcome! I love that it opened your heart, that’s my intention with my words.

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This is beautiful, thank you! As I sit bleary eyed from a sleepless night with my newborn and toddler it was a much needed reminder to connect and be in the moment with them even through the chaotic mess rather than try and catch up on all the stuff that needs to be done.

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You are so welcome! Thank you for joining this space, I hope it serves you on your journey. Being with them through the chaotic mess is the journey most days!

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“dreaming in the dark about what it means to be a mother.”.... So many of us shift through this... I’m writing for Kinship by @motherwild and so much of what we speak + share about there is THIS.

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Oh my! I am so happy to connect!

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This was a really interesting read. Now that my baby is out of the real ‘omg wtf am I doing’ stage, I find that I’m being more conscious about what I take on and what I dismiss advice wise. I went on a real ‘trad wife’ deep dive on YouTube in the early days and it honestly sent me a bit mad! Looking forward to reading more.

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I completely resonate with this. It is so hard to get out certain advice, opinions and ways of doing. I have worked hard to learn what is true for me as a mother and to listen to myself.

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Thank you for opening up a conversation that mentions trauma and dissociation. Sadly, this is something very relevant to me in my own motherhood experience / journey. I look forward to seeing what 2024 has in store for your Substack, and wish you all the best! 🥰

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Thank you for joining this community Holly! You are welcome, it is definitely a conversation that needs to be had. I’m sorry you had a similar experience, it is so hard.

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I feel so validated and at ease after reading your introductory post. Motherhood is and *should* be all the things you've mentioned here. Much of my writing over at Human/Mother (https://katrinadonhamwrites.substack.com/) connects to many of the topics you've broached here, specifically related to mental health and, of course, motherhood.

Thank you for creating a safe space for mothers who are doing the most difficult job in the world while also doing the most difficult work in the world: healing ourselves.

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I am so happy to have you here! You are so welcome, I look forward to connecting with you more.

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Hi Emma! I just joined and I love love love so much of what you said . Being in motherhood to me means being present and focused . Being able to look at my daughter with my eyes (instead through my camera all the time) and soak in every detail that I can of her because she’s growing so fast . I’m excited to connect with the community and share your work with my own community of mothers . We go over a writing prompt every month covering various topics for healing and growth. I would love it if you joined! Here is the link https://www.facebook.com/share/AWsXG1s5YJnDR71C/?mibextid=K35XfP

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I love how you described being with your daughter and soaking it all in. I am glad you here, I am writing a community connection post soon. I subscribed to you Substack, I am never on Facebook, I am excited to receive your prompts.

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I can’t wait to read that post ! And thank your for subscribing . The prompt for June already came out, here it is https://open.substack.com/pub/thegrowingmother/p/where-did-you-learn-to-be-a-mother?

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Thank you for sharing :)

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"For me it was my trauma brain and disassociation, for someone else it could be other things entirely. When we face what keeps us from being, we start to embody what motherhood means to us and the mother we knew existed inside of us all along."

This is me, completely and utterly me. Since having children it has glared in my face as what needs to be worked on and changed. Luckily I make progress daily, not only with my children but with forgiving myself. Embodiment is something I long for and currently on a waitlist to get more help from a professional, however there are a number of ways I've gotten started with these practices myself. I love that we can repair, we can forgive, and we can love our children through the midst of the hardness. They show me the most forgiveness and thankfully I am listening to my body and my needs more today than ever before. I love that you've created this space for our beautiful stumbling through this imperfectly perfect journey. I can't wait to read more!

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I am so happy you are here, thank you for sharing bits of your journey! While professional help is great, there a small things, which turn our to be life changing things, that are within our reach. We can definitely love our children through the midst of the hardness! Yes!

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