I remember with clarity the day I found out I was pregnant with my first child. I jumped around our studio apartment like a crazy woman. I’m sure the occupants below wondered what was going on! I was so excited and there was no containing it.
The pregnancy and subsequent birth were not quite what I had anticipated, but in the end, I had a healthy, beautiful little boy whose cuteness was only surpassed by his intelligence.
There are still many family sayings that come directly from my eldest son’s toddler-isms. We call grasshoppers “hopgroppers,” and when the sun is shining, we all whine, “Sunny-bright!” just as our little son once did. It seemed as though there couldn’t be anything more wonderful than our little guy. I loved him fiercely.
It was that fact that made me fear having another child.
What if I couldn’t love another the way I loved him? What if our second child got left in the dust because our first was so adorable and smart? How could I possibly give another child the love and attention I was giving my first born?
These, and many other questions, plagued my brain as my body became home to our second child. As she grew, my questions and fears grew too.
That was when I read this quote,
“With your first, you learn the depth of your love. With your second, you learn the breadth of your love.”
When that petite little bundle of baby girl was placed in my arms for the very first time, I realized I could indeed love her just as much and just as deeply as I had her big brother.
A mother’s love is not something that runs out or is depleted as another child joins the household. If anything, it is multiplied.
As mothers, we love each and every child, whether it be one or ten. That’s the beauty of motherhood. . . even when we wish we had more arms, we never need more than one heart.
Amy of Raising Arrows received the greatest number of your votes for The Most Inspiring Blogger in our Blog to Inspire contest.
The opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and not necessarily those of Eco Baby Steps or Parenting By Nature.
