As a mom you realize the importance of community to get you through many days. Maybe it is a group of friends you grew up with, your mom, sister, or other relatives. It really can be so many different things.
Did you think about your community much before kids? I didn't completely. I mean growing up I had a community, for example, the town I lived in, church, and school I attended. But it was a broad sense of community.
As a mom you realize you need a community you can depend on. Like the saying it takes a village to raise a child. What I found is you need to be confident in your choices so you can find the right community.
As a mom you also realize that, it is really tough and there are so many things to consider when you find your community. How are you feeding your child - nursing, pumping, bottles, or some combination? Where is your child sleeping? What is your new daily routine? Are you going to be a working mom, stay at home mom? Who is going to be watching your child if you are going to work?
These things are important, not because any one of them is right or wrong, but because they each require different support. And if you don't find the support consistent with your parenting style, well maybe you will compromise what you want due to lack of support. And mom guilt and judgement from other moms is real! So you want to find people that will help support you.
Finding those people can be tough, or maybe easy, it just depends. Then, having the confidence to continue to seek them out, reach out for support and follow your heart or gut sometimes is difficult. Maybe what you think of as social norms or just expectations of/from those around you who you love may differ from what you think is right for you.
It all takes time. Not everyone will help you in all areas, but you need to embrace each person for who they are and what you can learn from them and how you can help them be their best self.
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