Everyone’s so excited to meet the baby

 Everyone’s so excited to meet the baby.

But barely anyone looks at the mom.

The woman who just gave everything.
Her body. Her peace. Her sense of who she was.

And now she’s just expected to smile through it.
While bleeding.
While barely sleeping.
While figuring out how to be a mom and still remember who she is.

The baby is getting cuddled.
But when was the last time someone held her?
Really held her.

Not to give advice.
Not to judge.
Just to let her cry. Or not say anything at all.

She’s in there, under the laundry piles and the cracked nipples and the diapers.
She’s still a person.
Still needing love.
Still needing someone to ask how her heart is doing.

Because she doesn’t just need to hear, “The baby is beautiful.”
She needs to hear
“You are too.”
“You’re not alone.”
“You’re doing better than you think.”

She’s not just raising a baby.
She’s trying to keep herself alive too.

So show up for her.
Not just with gifts for the baby.
But with love for the mom who’s silently falling apart and holding it all together at the same time.