Super Moms Are Not Always Super

It's common nowadays to find mothers who work and care for their children at the same time. There are probably millions of super moms out there juggling household chores, day jobs, the married life and kids. I am pretty sure that majority of them are either single, or a little too young and having difficulty in raising a first baby, but is overcoming the odds anyway.

A Woman is Born to Be a Mother
Women are natural nurturers, and it's not in a woman's instinct to abandon or neglect her own child. In fact women tend to go above and beyond their own capabilities, just to protect their children. We are capable of sacrificing out of love. This great love drives women like us to push beyond our limits, even put our own health at risk just to provide for our baby's needs.

How I Tried to Be a Super Mom

I am a mom, first and foremost, secondly a wife, patient and enduring. When I found out I was pregnant the responsibility of raising a child properly scared me more than anything. This fear pushed me to aim for what's best for my son. I am an online writer, a part-time illustrator, blogger, ran an online store and now trying out pay per clicks as a source of income.

All the work I do and responsibilities, I do from home. In any other situation this would have been the most convenient thing ever. The work I do is convenient now don’t get me wrong, it's still more difficult because motherhood, housework and work-work don't always mesh so well. There are tough times intertwined with the happy ones. As a work-at-home mom, I experienced many times when I would feel exhausted, sleepy, hungry and dizzy. Nowadays, I've managed to balance things out. Back then, however, I wouldn't always tell my husband or show it and kept working anyway.

The rest I took was the time when I am with my son; whether I was changing his diaper, feeding him, bathing him or swaying him to sleep. I did almost everything and felt energetic, sometimes, about all I was able to accomplish. My "sense of purpose" bar brimmed to the top and I was very proud of myself.

How My Being a Super Mom Did Us Harm
I hardly bothered with vitamins because I always forgot. Each of every day I gave my full attention to work and what my son needed: food, vitamins, diaper change, bath, nap, sleep, day out, fresh air, sunlight and it goes on and on. But I always forgot myself, even when i felt cold, my head ached or my body shook from hunger.

One day I had one of the worst flu cases in my life. It's difficult to work when you're sick, that's obvious enough. What's worse is that somehow passed it on to my husband and baby. He was 7 months at the time. My son got sick for four days with fluctuating temperatures and my husband hit a dangerously high temperature for two consecutive nights. We were short on money since I had been sick; despite being sick myself I had to pull in what energy I had left to care for my husband and son. It took me two full weeks of rest and recovery, before I was able to work again.

Like most hard core moms, I felt like I failed in protecting my son from a terrible viral sickness; and it came from me. I wasn't sure how to deal with the disappointment from myself. I had been trying hard to provide baby necessities but endangered my husband and son's health in the process.

A Friendly Reminder to Super Moms

For super moms out there, new-found ones and veterans, I know you never seem to run out of energy when it comes to your kids, but sometimes taking care of ourselves is a gift we can give our children too. It's true we have this bottomless pocket where we get our energy and determination, especially when it comes to our kids. Despite that, we still have weaknesses, bad days and critical spots.

Super moms are not always super after all.

If we’re not healthy enough or strong enough, no one can support our children or protect them from harm. In my case, I brought the cold to him by disregarding my own health. Although my intentions were mostly selfless, in the end it seemed more selfish than helpful. Trying to be “super” and pushing limits slammed me into a corner I couldn't dissolve.

There is still a limit in doing everything for your kid.

But a healthy and “present” mom, physically and mentally,

is all a child needs in the end.