The Wait Phase

The Wait Phase

I have officially come to understand what so many talk about as the “hurry up and wait” process. There is an increased urgency and emphasis put on your pre-testing and scheduling of appointments. So you rush to complete all the items on your checklist and then what???

Well in my wait phase, I spent some time practicing. My Godsister recently said “practice makes perfect” right? Meaning you become better at something if you do it often. But that is only one piece of the pie and other factors contribute to skill development. VeryWell Mind suggests other important factors include overall intelligence, how early you start learning, your memory capacity, inborn talent, and most importantly mental practice. Of course, mental practice involves imagining the steps you must go through to perform a task.

While nothing can fully prepare you for the excitement, chaos, and exhaustion of motherhood there are two things to remember: First, exploration is an important part of the process and second, be courageous and not afraid to make mistakes!

Working Mother proposes that there are many life experiences you’ve already encountered, that will help prepare for this journey called Motherhood. Here are just a few

1. The all-nighters you pulled in college help show you, it is possible to function on very little sleep
2. All the Ikea furniture you put together will come in handy when getting the nursery together or constructing a complicated toy
3. Buying a home can be a extremely complicated process, similar to filling out the post-delivery hospital paperwork or signing up for daycare
4. Blizzards (or even the COVID pandemic) that force you stay inside for several days in a row is comparable to your maternity leave
5. Dropping something outside with high winds and having to chase after it, is much like running after your child nonstop

(Articles referenced in posts include:  https://www.workingmother.com/20-unexpected-things-that-actually-prepare-you-for-working-motherhood and https://www.verywellmind.com/does-practice-really-make-perfect-2795158)