Change and The Shift to Motherhood

Does any of this sound familiar to you:

• Raging hormones (hello acne!)
• A body that doesn’t feel like yours anymore 
• Swinging emotions 
• Not really sure who you are anymore or who you’re becoming

Sounds like adolescence right? That horribly awkward time when we weren’t children, we weren’t adults, and we didn’t know what to do with ourselves.

However, it also sounds a whole lot like being pregnant, especially for a first-time mom. We can’t control our changing bodies or raging hormones. 

Matrescence is the new adolescence 

The term “matrescence” is gaining more popularity, but it actually was created back in the 1970s by medical anthropologist Dana Raphael. She noticed that in western culture, people would say “a child is born”, as opposed to “a woman has given birth”.  Women were being relegated to nothing more than a side character in the story, and all the emphasis was placed on the baby.  We became too bump-centric. 

The idea has been picking up traction again, as experts collectively acknowledge that socially, physically, and emotionally, pregnancy is a huge transition. Much like adolescence, we experience this change in our bodies and in our lives that ends with us becoming a different version of ourselves.  It’s a time that can be overwhelming and daunting. 

The difference? We are supposed to treat pregnancy like it’s the best thing all the time! 

We are supposed to take a process that is so wild and so huge, and be nothing but happy and grateful about every single moment. No matter how hard, no matter how crummy we feel, we are supposed to grin serenely and clasp our hands over our bellies like the cover of Pregnancy magazine. 

Not only that, we’re supposed to be either a full-bellied damsel in distress or a supermom - no in between. While our pregnancies may be different, how we feel about them and the choices we make leave little room for our own intuition. 

Enough! 

I don’t know about you, but I’m done with that noise. 

Don’t get me wrong, this is a really exciting journey!  But you’re allowed to have a lot of feelings about it. You’re allowed to have days where you’re just not feeling any of it. 

You are not a side character. This is YOUR story. And we have one simple rule: that you can be whatever you want. 

You feel strong and confident? Good, own it girl!  You are a bit of a hot mess today? That’s fine. Stay in your jammies and throw on a movie. You aren’t sure about this whole thing? Yeah, been there. Let’s talk about it. You’re having the time of your life? Great! Let’s high-five and celebrate it.

Chart your own course into motherhood. Someone else is doing it differently? Good for them! Trust YOUR instincts - that rumble inside you to guide you in the right way for you.  

At rumbly, our mission is to provide a non-judgmental community to support you during this incredible time of change. We’re your squad and we got your back. 

So let’s reclaim your role in the story and make it YOUR story. That’s what rumbly is all about. 

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