Last weekend, Laurent stayed over with his grandparents as Wayne and I had something to attend to that night.

When we returned home from the event, we quickly washed up and were ready to hit the sack within an hour. But both of us ended up tossing around in bed because we seldom sleep so early nowadays. Most nights, after we return home from a day out, we will be busy washing Laurent’s bottles, packing his baby bag for the next day, changing him and going about his bedtime routine.

“What do you think life will be like if we do not have a baby yet?” I asked Wayne.

“We’ll be doing more of the things we love. Traveling, eating out, picking up new hobbies.”

“I miss doing those things,” I replied longingly as I reminisced about the fun things that we used to do before the little one came into our lives.

“Me too. But I miss him more.”

And I realised how quiet the house was without Laurent’s random giggles and cheeky exclamations. And a sudden pang of emptiness hit me when I tried to imagine not having him in our lives.

Sure, there are things which I wished I tried doing, learning, pursuing and accomplishing before  having a baby. But I’ve come to realise that, like getting married, there really isn’t a time when you truly feel ready enough. No matter at what age or stage of your life, there will be something you hope to accomplish or do more of.

I would loved to have travelled more, go to more places, take in more sights, experience more cultures. But when is it enough?

I wished I had discovered my dream before Laurent came along so that I could focus on it and pursue it. But when do I stop?

To me, embracing motherhood is about learning to make the best of my life with the new role that I’ve taken on. Life has definitely changed with the addition of this little member – my priorities are different, it is more difficult to find time to do my own things and I am now fully responsible for another human being. But that doesn’t mean I have to give up the life I wish to lead or that I can no longer chase my dreams.

In fact, I think becoming a mom has equipped me with new skills and tenacity to accomplish more than I used to believe I can. And the period I was staying at home with Laurent allowed me to seriously contemplate about what I want to get out of my life and what I wish to be recognised for.

I’ve learnt that making little changes to my routine and the way I do things can help me to accomplish more and make my days more fulfilling. With more responsibilities and things to do in that same 24-hour timespan, becoming a mom has urged me to live everyday more purposefully.

I try to wake up earlier to take advantage of the quiet moments before the day’s hubbub take over.

I’m learning to take better care of my body to reduce down time.

I try to get into the habit of planning my days and weeks to make better use of the time I have.

I try to surround myself with beautiful things to keep myself inspired.

I watch less TV so I have more time to read.

And once in a while I make childcare arrangements with my parents or parents-in-law so that I can go for talks, classes, day out with the girlfriends or just to have a date night with Wayne.

But beyond all these, the beauty of motherhood is also the experiences and memories I share with Laurent. Besides celebrating milestones, it is also about the little moments that fill the daily life – watching the rain, sharing a dance, dozing off to bedtime stories, having a good laugh over nothing, staring into each others’ eyes, and just smelling the roses along the way…

 I used to be worried about how different life will be when we have a baby. And yes, life has definitely changed in some major ways. But motherhood has been such a beautiful and inspiring journey so far (albeit tiring and sometimes frustrating), it’s exciting to think about what’s to come!

The Embracing Motherhood blog train is hosted by fellow mom blogger, Dominique, from Dominique’s Desk. Check out her blogpost for all the mummies who will be sharing about what embracing motherhood means for all of them.

Next up on the blog train is Valerie, a sentimentalist, a natural hoarder, and a self-confessed mystery. She also likes all things cute and sweet. And that was exactly what little Sweets was, fresh from the womb. PLUS a lot more, as she would soon discover. Loving her family is what she does best, though she doesn’t always get it right. She is into the business of hoarding collecting memories on her blog at Home On the Stone. There she shares the thrills and spills of marriage, parenting, faith, and life and hopes that she can sit down with her hubby and Sweets one day in the far future and laugh and cry as they reminisce the memories they created together.