Why Do I Blog?

A few days ago, the daily writing prompt was:

Why do you blog?

A simple question. And truthfully, a simple answer. There are a few different reasons that I blog.

I’m a new mom, and so am in the middle of a huge life change. I have tons of thoughts about the things that are happening to me and around me. Sometimes I’ll lie awake at night, just pondering everything that I’m learning. It honestly feels like my head is going to explode with the jumble of disorganized ideas and questions that I have. I need to get these thoughts out of my head, and writing helps. Putting these abstract thoughts into organized words and paragraphs makes sense of them and provides me with some order.

I want to remember these moments with my baby, the good and the challenging. I can already look back and see how much both he and I have grown in the last six months. I can only imagine what life will be like two years from now…or ten years from now. I don’t want to forget any of it.

I’m also writing for the benefit of other new moms. When I had my baby, I didn’t really have much of a support system. Other than my sister and my mom, no one around me was really there to help me through the difficult transition. None of my friends have kids, so although they could be empathetic, they couldn’t truly relate or understand. I felt so much guilt and shame and worry over so many different things, like my struggle with breast-feeding, the debilitating lack of sleep, my changing relationship with my partner, my total lack of self care…the list goes on and on. Once I got my head above water and started venturing out into the world and listening to other moms, I realized how completely normal and common these issues are. I wasn’t alone in any of them.

I’d like to imagine that late one night, bleary-eyed from lack of sleep, a new mom who hasn’t been out of the house or even showered in days comes across one of my posts and recognizes herself in something that I’ve written. Maybe it would validate something that she’s feeling and make her feel a little bit less alone.

That’s why I blog.