Supermom and the Unicorn

When I started thinking about what to write on the topic of imperfection, a million situations and reflections from my thirty years of life came to mind. So, choosing one wasn’t easy. But I’ll share one that, in the end, made me laugh – and it’s about motherhood!

Given that by the time I was about to become a mom, life had already worn me down quite a bit, I hoped, as my friend Iva likes to say, that the cosmic secretary had prepared an easier chapter for me once I gave birth to my baby boy. I was wrong. Postpartum hit me hard, in all sorts of ways.

One of the biggest challenges was breastfeeding. I was very determined to breastfeed our son – because, as so many online moms say, “it’s the most natural thing in the world.” Sure, I thought, for everyone except for me. With breast implants (another imperfection I’d, however, decided to fix) and plenty of milk in them, but unbearable pain that lasted far too long.

After a million well-intentioned and not-so-well-intentioned pieces of advice, I bought silicone nipple shields. Suddenly, breastfeeding became easier, but it was still far from supermom-perfect. One night, while breastfeeding him with the shield on, I felt it slip off – and in the dark, I couldn’t find it anywhere.

My son kept frantically searching for the nipple until I finally turned on the light – and there it was: the silicone shield stuck right to his forehead. My two-month-old son – a unicorn.

After three months of struggle, we finally settled into a breastfeeding rhythm, mainly because I was so determined to make it work – partly for all its benefits, and partly because I wanted to feel, even just a little, like a supermom.

Now, with nearly four years of motherhood behind me, I can say this with certainty: A supermom is born the very same day as her child, regardless of whether she breastfeeds or not, and whether she fits the “norms” or not.