20 Women Share the First Time They Truly Felt Like a Mom

“I felt like a mom the minute I was more worried about if she was breathing and was OK, than the fact I was laying, cut-open, on a table during my C-section.” — Christine Lynn Pugliese

“Honestly, I knew I was a mom when my husband and I had a serious discussion that if anything happens during delivery and the choice is to be made between our son or me. I informed my husband that no matter what happens, our son comes home. At that moment, I knew my son was more important than me and he came first in anything.” — Holly Davis

“I felt I was a mum for the first time one or two days after my son was born. He was being fussy because he couldn’t latch properly and it was frustrating him so much, he was being worse and worse at it. I took him away from my breast for a second, looked him in the eye, and said as softly as I could, ‘Baby, it’s OK. Don’t fuss or you’ll never manage it. Take a few breaths, settle down, it’ll be fine.’ I knew he couldn’t understand my words but I think my voice soothed him. When he was calmer, I put him back on my breast and he latched perfectly. I was so proud of us both.” – Anne Lny Surround

“I first felt like a mom when we had just left an OB appointment and decided to walk around the mall and look at cute baby things. It wasn’t the cute baby things that made me feel like a mother — it was the second the OB office called me while we were walking, telling me my progesterone was at a 5.2, and that I should be prepared for a miscarriage. I lost it, right in the mall. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be a mom before that — I’ve always wanted to have kids but I was on Depo-Provera and wasn’t actively trying to conceive. When they told me our pregnancy was more than likely going to end with a loss, my entire mindset changed. I’m this child’s MOTHER. I have to do whatever it takes to protect my baby. An OB switch and a few progesterone suppositories later, we have a happy healthy 1-year-old.” — Brandi Nicole

“The first time I ever felt like a mom was when I first saw my baby during an ultrasound. I went to the doctor because I wasn’t feeling well. I had a positive urine test at the office and was scheduled for an ultrasound at my OB the next morning. After eight years of trying, two OBGYNs, two reproductive endocrinologists, multiple failed rounds of fertility treatments, adoption classes, and a doctor who told me I would never have children because I was too fat, I was finally a mother.” — Heather Humes

“I felt like a mom when they gave me an epidural and lost his heartbeat and had to give me an emergency C-section. My first thought was if I have to die for him to live, then that’s all that matters.” — LaTricia A. Skeete

“I didn’t know I was pregnant when I gave birth to my daughter. It was the scariest thing I have ever been through in my entire life. There was never a question if I was gonna keep her and become a mom or not. I was single, there would be no dad in the picture, and I had absolutely nothing ready for a baby — after all, I wasn’t expecting a baby in my life at that point. In fact, my plan had always been to adopt a child if I was ever going to be blessed enough to have one in my life. (I have a lot of health problems I didn’t want to risk passing to a kid.) But she was mine right away, even if I wasn’t sure I was ready to be a mom. It took longer than I would like to admit to feel like a real mom with no time to mentally prepare for this change in my life. I felt like a real mom the first time I had to stay up all night because she wouldn’t sleep and cried anytime I wasn’t holding her. I remember sitting on the couch with her in my arms, just crying my own eyes out because I was so overwhelmed and tired. It was my job to be the one to stay up with her all night, no one else’s. My job to comfort her — I was her mom.” — Erin Jackman

“I first felt like a mom when I went in for an appointment the day before my due date and they did an ultrasound that showed he was out of water and lower on oxygen than he should have been. They immediately sent me over to labor and delivery for an induction that turned into a C-section after 12 hours of no progress. The whole time, all I could think was that I would give anything for him to be OK.” — Kassie Garcia

“I loved my son since before he was born, but I didn’t really feel like his mom until he was about 2 weeks old. I had had two miscarriages in the year before he was conceived. When I found out that I was pregnant with him (at 4.5 weeks), my OB ran all the tests right away and we found out that my progesterone was very low. She had me start a progesterone supplement and was encouraging, but my husband and I were bracing for another loss. Because of this, we barely acknowledged that we were pregnant until into my second trimester. I loved my baby, and I loved being pregnant, but always felt that I was behind the curve as far as attachment. We did a cutesy little announcement, had a gender reveal party and an amazing baby shower, set up his room and took maternity photos, but it still never really set in that I was actually going to be a mom.

“My labor was only 10 hours long and not at all dramatic, but it was overnight and I had a difficult time sleeping. Then, I pushed for 2.5 hours and was so exhausted toward the end that I was falling asleep between contractions. When they broke my water, there was meconium in it and when my son was born, he wouldn’t cry at first, so instead of being laid on me, he went straight to the warmer to be looked over by the pediatrician. He was fine and in like 15 minutes he was in my arms. I was exhausted but I found it impossible to sleep at the hospital, so the whole time I was there, I felt like I was in a daze. Once I brought him home, he started losing too much weight, so I had to feed him every 90 minutes during the day and every 2 hours at night. He was very difficult to wake up and keep awake, so I was constantly trying to feed him and still not getting any sleep. I was still dazed and my anxiety was through the roof. We started supplementing with formula, so my husband would take over one of the night feedings. By two weeks, the baby had surpassed his birth weight, so he didn’t have to be fed as often, and he was becoming more alert, so it was easier to feed him. I got a solid four hours of sleep one night and I felt like a whole new person the next day. I could actually enjoy being with my son. After that, things got better rapidly.

“He’s almost 7 months old now and he’s more amazing than I could ever have imagined. He is the sweetest, happiest little baby that I’ve ever known and I cannot imagine my life without him.” — Alice Perreira

“I was told I could never get pregnant. Between my celiac disease and weighing 200 pounds, the doctors said it would be impossible. I was crushed. As was my husband. Then, shortly after he left for his deployment, I began to feel sick a lot. I just assumed it was my terrible GI system — mixed with anxiety in regards to the deployment — and ignored it. After a few days, my coworkers joked that I should take one of the pregnancy tests we had in the supply closet. I took one and was shocked at the results! Knowing my struggles, my beloved coworkers told me to try another one. Another positive result. I was so confused. I thought I couldn’t get pregnant! A few days later, I bought 3 more tests since I knew I would be able to call my husband that night.

“Three positive tests later and my husband called! How was this possible!? We both cried tears of joy!

“Flash-forward 10 months later (one month after our sweet son arrived and my husband was home), my son began choking on his formula! He continued to spit up and it was trapped. What seemed like an eternity later, I was able to clear his air ways and he was breathing just fine. Crying! I was so happy to hear those cries — it meant he was breathing. I immediately called my mom (a retired family physician) who validated that I had done the right thing, but to keep a close eye on him.

“It was scary, but in that moment I decided I actually felt like a mom! I never loved someone so much that it physically hurt my soul to see them like that! Scary moments are the proof of character! They’re how we find out who we are. I am a mom! And there’s no other title that I am more proud of.” — Meghan McFadden

“Honestly, I knew I was a mom when I felt her kick for the first time.
She is my first, so I took like five pregnancy tests and still didn’t believe it but then I felt her move for the first time and realized I’m a mommy now. It really sank in when I gave birth and she was in my arms. She grabbed my finger and smiled a little bit.” — Julia Levy Brown

“I first felt like a mom walking out of the hospital with my daughter. She was adopted and our miracle baby. We had no time to prepare but the moment I looked at her, she was mine. I now have a biological son, as well. They are my heart walking outside my body.” — Dani Epperson

“The first time I felt like a mom was when I heard my son crying in the hospital in the nursery. The crying wouldn’t stop and I knew it was him crying. The nurses insisted it was another baby and that they would be tending to that baby shortly but they were busy with another newborn. I marched into the nursery, saw my son was the one crying, and immediately took him in my arms and went back to my room. This was just 12 hours post C-section. I knew my son’s cry when I heard it!” — Katie Myers

“I feel like those moments come in waves. They still come: some are tender moments, some are hard moments, and some are mundane moments when you feel like such a cliche of motherhood you laugh outloud because you just found your shoe filled with Hot Wheels cars and Goldfish crackers. One particularly poignant moment for me, though, was during the delivery of my first son. It had been a long and somewhat traumatic ordeal. I was pushing and the doc said, ‘One more good push and he’ll be out.’ Suddenly, I realized I was going to meet MY SON. I was surprised how terrified I was in that moment. I looked at my husband and he had the same look on his face, we were becoming PARENTS in that moment. I’ll never forget it” — Megan Tracey

“The first time I felt like a mom is when they laid my 35-week baby girl on my chest. Nothing felt more real than seeing this little 4-pound baby on me. My whole pregnancy, I didn’t have any symptoms and she didn’t move a lot, so it was all so unreal to me until she came.” — Nancy Herrera

“I got pregnant with my daughter when I was 18. I was living with a whole bunch of other young people and we lived to party. One night, while we were all really messed up, one of my friends looked at me and said, ‘You’re pregnant.’ To prove him wrong, I went and got a test to take. He wasn’t wrong — I was pregnant. The first time I felt like a mom was when that test showed a second line and I made the decision to never use again. I moved back home, got clean, and had a beautiful, healthy baby girl. I’ve been clean 19 years now.” — Shauna Johnson

“After five miscarriages and finalizing IVF, I had high doubts that raising a child would ever be in my future. Shortly after completing IVF and in the ‘waiting stage,’ I was going to bed and suddenly was hungry. I might add I never ever eat once I lay down. But THIS time, I had to get up. I wanted spaghetti with deviled eggs on top so bad I could nearly taste it. It also struck me at how odd it was and how weird my husband would think I was. So, I settled just for the spaghetti and went to bed. I knew in that moment I was definitely pregnant and that this one was going to stick! The next morning, I got a call about the bloodwork I had done earlier that day. Even the nurse (who literally cried with me on a few of the later losses) was stunned to say that not only was I pregnant but the HCG was highly elevated! My little man was born almost ten months later. Happiest moments of my life! He’s 5 now and going to kindergarten next month, and we have absolutely cherished every single moment!” — Chrissy Rowlett Doyle

“I didnt feel like a mom until my son was around 7 months old and his father and I split up. I was on my own and had to make decisions for him and protect him from harm, including from his father. Things haven’t always been easy and I haven’t been the best mom I know, but I’ve never left his side. Thirteen years later, he has become the air I breathe.” — Kayla Aucoin

“My first experience being a mom was harrowing. I ended up with a blood transfusion and the shakes, so I couldn’t even hold her after my C-section. I was also experiencing severe pain and the nurses kept telling me it was gas, and to get up and walk around. I was discharged from the hospital three days after surgery only to go back in three days later. My incision opened and was oozing. It turns out I had a really bad staph infection. It was caused by the metal staples. I couldn’t bond with my baby for over two weeks. I’m grateful my hubby was there to take care of our daughter. When I did finally get well enough to take care of her, I didn’t feel that instant bond everyone says you feel. I felt disconnected, and like a horrible person for feeling that way. I finally talked to my doctor and that was when he wrote me a prescription for an antidepressant. It really helped balance my hormone levels and I felt like me again. I bonded with my daughter when she was 6 months old.” — Michelle A. Cropper

“My son was a preemie, so he didn’t cry when he was born. I had one quick glimpse before he was whisked away to NICU. I was carted downstairs, two floors away, for two days while they tried to get me stabilized, so I couldn’t see him. After I was able to see him, I still couldn’t hold him because of the equipment he was attached to. I was finally able to hold him a few days later, skin to skin. I don’t know if that was the moment I felt like a mom, but it was most certainly the moment I felt whole again.” — Christa Michael