The Sisterhood of Mommyhood

My little girl, Rachel, already has two boyfriends.

Haha. Yup. I'm not kidding! (I'll get to that in a minute...)

As a hard of hearing mommy, there are certain struggles that not every mommy can understand - however, I've been exceedingly fortunate to have met two other mothers in Victoria who are not only understanding, but have been a source of support from time to time.

The funny thing is, we wouldn't have met if it weren't for our prenatal class at Mothering Touch! Being newcomers to Victoria meant that I didn't know many people here, and at the time, becoming a new mom felt like I was about to hit a big block of isolation - my social life wouldn't be the same, my time would be occupied with all things baby, and it would be harder to go out to meet new people.

The most amazing part? Our little babes were born within hours and days of each other! (How awesome is that?). With their permission, Katerina (William's mommy - born the same day as Rachel, just a few hours older) and Karen (Oscar's mommy - born 3 days later) have agreed to let me 'tell you' about them, and how they've really helped me.

Katerina and William (L), Karen and Oscar (C), Myself with Rachel (R) - This was taken a few months after the babes were born!

While our story begins with our meeting at Mothering Touch, it was what happened after prenatal class ended. We all felt the need to have that mommy connection - especially given that we didn't have many local friends who knew what we were going through. After all, the three of us did not originate from Victoria! During this time, I still felt a little bit homesick for friends and family back home, but knowing that these two ladies knew to some degree how I was feeling was a source of comfort. Thank you for all the pre-baby coffee dates. You have no idea how much that helped.

The story continues at Victoria General Hospital. What was ultimately one of the most exhausting days of my life, I learned that Katerina was there too! What a God-given gift. The day after the birth of William and Rachel, I'll never forget Katerina stepping into my room with her puffy pink robe and fuzzy pink slippers! (The things I remember...) I smiled in my heart, thinking: how amazing it is to have someone that you barely know make themselves so welcome in your life?

Given that we had to stay in the hospital an extra five days (long story short - our little girl needed to be on antibiotics), we had the opportunity to see Karen too! Unfortunately,  we couldn't pay her a proper visit then - though I did message her saying that I wished we had just 'barged' in. My personality isn't as extroverted as I'd like it to be.

My favorite photo of the kids! It's amazing to see how they interact with each other. Rachel (L), William (C), Oscar (R)

Three weeks after the babies were born, the three families got together and shared things that you probably wouldn't share with the average bystander. Birth details were shared, breastfeeding ensued, and concerns were voiced. That kind of camaraderie can't be forced, it happens naturally. 

Karen and Katerina have also helped me at points in time when I questioned my ability to be a good mom - especially when my hearing loss came into play. They put any doubts I had to rest. They were also the first people to hear Rachel really talk! I remember telling Rachel to be 'gentle' with the boys, and she said "gentle" (I didn't hear this, unfortunately!). The two ladies were also the ones that directed my attention to her expanding vocabulary, and thanks to them, I've really paid more attention to what comes out of my daughter's mouth! (In case you didn't know: being a HOH sometimes means being a little lazy sometimes with hearing things - just because we're so tired of listening!)


Now, over a year later, as I look back on Rachel's life - she's so lucky to have two other kids her age to play with, which is something that doesn't happen often. I remember thinking as we attended the babies' 1st birthdays how lucky we are to have each other - even though we don't see each other as much as we'd like to. It means a lot to our family to have your families to be a part of our lives.

October 2014 - The babies are almost a year old here!

In closing, there are many people that come and go in our lives, but those that make an impact - big or small, will always stay in your heart.