Being a mom can be scary – here are some of the more unconventional mom fears.
As a new mom, I realized that there was so much to be scared of. Actually, the fear began when I was pregnant. First, make it to 12 weeks where the chances of a miscarriage drop dramatically. Then stress about hitting that golden 26 weeks, where the babies chance of survival should he or she come early skyrockets. Then worry about movement – is it enough? Too little or too much? Pray you get to full term, then when will the babe will be finally coming out, and then worry about your delivery. You’d think that that was it, but no, then you have to worry about SIDS and whooping cough and an unbelievable array of other terrifying potential deaths that are clearly hiding behind every corner. Never Google anything related to your child – good or bad. If you do, you’ll soon be in a ball in the corner, rocking with your incredibly vulnerable new baby in your arms, muttering to yourself.
Once you get out of those first few weeks or months, it doesn’t necessarily lessen, but you learn to manage it. The fears are ever changing, from illness to development to interaction. But there are some things that all moms fear – things that, when you see or hear them, they will bring your stomach to your feet. These fears, my friends, are the ones to really watch out for because they’re the ones that you don’t really expect to fear, the ones that don’t show up in your Google search results. And they’re the ones that really mess with your head.
Unconventional Things a Mom Fears
–Silence. Now that my son is mobile, (and a total terror, if we’re being honest) I’ve learned that when he’s in the living room and I’m doing something in another room, noise is my friend. Noise is safe. Noise means he’s playing or reading to himself. Silence means he’s being sneaky. He’s climbing on something, he’s tormenting an animal, he’s elbow deep into his diaper.. trouble.
–The lights of the baby monitor. I call these the ‘lights of death’. In fact, once my son turned one or so I had to get rid of the monitor at night because I started to imagine them lighting up and it would keep me up for hours. No lie. Every parent knows that gut sinking feeling when you see the monitor flicker from the one stationary light to two, three, then four lights. Nap time is over, there’s about to be a midnight wake up, or it’s time to roll your tired ass out of bed.
–A giggle at 2 am. Maybe it’s just my kid, but if my son giggles (or, more likely, goes, “bop!”) anytime past 2 am, he’s not going back to sleep. And if he does, it won’t be for at least 2 hours. Also see: when he starts lightly hitting my arm while I try to rock him back to sleep or pulls his head back to look at me in the pitch dark. All are bad, bad signs.
–The pre-whine. There is a very specific noise that comes right before a huge breakdown. It’s usually how I can tell if it’s going to be a big deal or if I can just throw a, “Stop, you’re being silly, the world is not ending,” his way and get back to doing dishes. This noise usually precludes floor stomping, laying down on the ground wailing, and leg clinging. You have been warned.
–The nosy advice giver. I can now spot this culprit from a mile away. They try to make eye contact first, but even if you don’t give in, they’re on their way over to tell you about XYZ. Maybe your kid isn’t wearing both socks or is having a slight meltdown in the middle of Target. Advice will be given. Maybe your baby looks too young to be out and about just yet, or they’ve decided the baby is hungry, or tired, or needs to be held this way or that. Whatever the case, once you develop the trained eye to identify this threat, run. Run fast. Or else you’ll be stuck for an hour listening to all of the ways you’re parenting wrong and how you can fix it.
–An empty snack cup. The snack cup is a beautiful, wonderful thing. I can fill it up with raisins and orange chunks, maybe rice or crackers, and send the little dude on his way while I get 5 minutes of something done. Those 5 minutes are precious. As much as I wish I could continually fill said cup up to buy myself an unknown amount of time, the mental image of rolling my toddler down the hallway Veruca Salt-style is not ideal. When I peer into the living room and see that there are only 3 or 4 more raisins left, my whole body seizes up, knowing the begging and pleading that is coming.
This is not the full list of unconventional things that will scare a mom. Oh, no. Any of these, and many, many, many more will strike the fear of God into any parent. But such is life when you have littles, no? Constant fear, terror, and sloppy kisses.
So moms- did any of these mom fears strike a chord with you? Any other mom fears that came after kids that you would never have guessed? Let me know in the comments!
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Shannon says
You don’t know anxiety until you become a mom, that’s for sure!
These are all familiar fears. Silence is a big one right now with my 17-month-old!
Jamie says
Love your blog and have been following for a while, but haven’t commented until now. As a mom to a 4 yr old and twin 2 yr olds, these fears are spot on! I’ve had random people tell me to put socks on my twins (never mind that they’ve pulled them off 8 times already and it’s 70 degrees out). Oh and the giggle at 2 am from the 4 yr old is killer.
Kat says
haha I love this post.
I know when I would watch my siblings [who are 12 and 14 years younger than I am] I would always be so excited for the silence, then immediately freak out. “Oh no, what are they doing they are too quiet.” 😉
Savannah Palmiteh says
I wasn’t scared as a new mom. I really just took it in stride. BUT…Oh my goodness, the giggle! My baby girl does that all the time! She’ll just start laughing at me, and I know we’re gonna be up all night. It is scary!
Emily says
<333 I love how honest you are Morgan. Please keep sharing the ups and downs, cause it gives me courage for having my own children, Lord willing, someday!
Cayanne Marcus @healthyezsweet says
Congratulations on your precious little worry-inducer 🙂 I can’t believe strangers who try to lecture parents on their own child. As if they have any insight to YOUR family!!
Heather @ Polyglot Jot says
omg the nosy advice giver! hahaha perfect! 🙂 Great post!
Hollie says
Ugh the nosy advice giver is the worst. This is such a humorous post.
Jenny says
All of them. Taking your kid in public is scary because you never know if they will be good or if some random stranger thinks they know your kid better than you do.
I also took the monitor away around a year old because I wasn’t sleeping even though my babies were. I was just more paranoid that they would wake up or I’d hear them roll over and it would wake me up anyway.
sarah says
I’m not a mom, but I have babysat young kids enough to know how true these all are! Especially the pre-whine. I do everything I can in that 30 second window to prevent the inevitable melt down that is sure to follow!
Michelle says
The empty snack cup – as a grandmother I fear that one. My two little ones eat and eat and eat. As soon as the cup is empty, I anticipate the “more please.” They could eat out of that thing all day long. This was such a cute post.
GiGi Eats says
I have definitely heard that SILENCE can be a scary scary thing when you have kids! LOL!!!! WHAT HAPPENED??? ha ha ah! Although really, it’s not necessarily a laughing matter!
Kristy @ Southern In Law says
LOVE LOVE LOVE this! All of these are so true – and I don’t even have kids of my own 😛
Stefani @ Crafty Christian says
This is so true! Except with the snack container now… I used to fear it being empty, but now that Mr. Mischief has learned how to take the top off of it, I fear him getting bored with his snack and spilling it everywhere before he finishes eating it 🙁 The new dustbuster I bought is my best friend.
Tricia says
Great post! So many of these ring true for me! My little guy loves puffs and I know a meltdown is coming when that puffs container is running low!
Jamie @ Medium Sized Family says
I used to lie in bed following rabbit trails of horrid things that were sure to happen to my poor babies. I told myself that I was making a plan about what to do “just in case”.
After a while, I began to realize that it was just making me horribly anxious, so I began instead to recognize it as the “what if” game. If I caught myself playing the “what if” game, I would immediately make myself stop and focus my attention on something more productive. It has helped me tremendously!
Now those other things you mention, those are sure fears for Moms. Especially the nosy advice giver. It’s great when you can smile and walk away from them quickly. Don’t feel obligated to listen to a stranger’s advice for any amount of time!
Erin @ Stay At Home Yogi says
The quiet is truly terrifying!!! 🙂 And you are so right about that early morning giggle! It totally means “Hey mom! I’m up! Time to party!!” LOL 🙂
The Little Tourist says
You have a little cutie! I definitely feared the pre-whine… and did (almost) whatever I could to prevent it. Then, after a while, I just braced for it. lol!
Thanks for sharing at Pieced Pastimes 🙂
Echo says
Oh man, silence is the scariest! I swear, silence is no good! Thanks for sharing this at the #SmallVictoriesSundayLinkup!
Britney says
I’ve only been a mom for 3 weeks now but this post is totally relatable! I’ve already had many of these fears!
Lisa @ Fun Money Mom says
LOL! This made me laugh because it’s all so true! Trust me, you are not the only one with these fears (I also fear running out of wine after a day of tantrums…haha)
Hil says
The creepy possessed giggle at two am, yup, scares the living bejesus out of me!
[email protected] says
hahaha I have a 15 month old, and this cracked me up!
Sandra Garth says
My oldest is 44 and my youngest is 33 and I still worry. Why didn’t they answer my text or phone call. Is he/she wearing their seat belt, did they start their retirement plan yet and oh my goodness don’t let them get sick! Then there are the grandchildren. I guess it comes with the territory!
Cara says
The nosy advice giver is always the worst! Haha I can remember at first standing there and trying to be polite in listening to it, but now I’m like “I’ve got this, thanks!”
Amberjane says
Trust me when they are teenagers you will still have fears !! – thank you for sharing with Pin Worthy Wednesday