This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
Marya Mesa is here to share everything she never expected about being a mom. This is the fourth and final post in a series inspired and sponsored by the new memoir from Lisa-Jo Baker, Surprised by Motherhood: Everything I Never Expected about Being a Mom. You can read the first post here – The Joy of Parenting Teens, the second post here – When Motherhood Sneaks Up on You, and the third post here – Why Being a Mom is So Important.
As I waited for the arrival of my first child in 1991, I read every parenting book I could get my hands on, went to childbirth classes and did everything a pregnant mom was supposed to do. I thought I was ready. I thought I knew what was coming.
From the first pages of Surprised by Motherhood: Everything I Never Expected About Being a Mom I was captivated. Lisa-Jo Baker is candid and totally real about the conflicts she felt as she contemplated if she even wanted to become a mom, as well as sharing the chaotic (and wickedly funny) moments of her experiences with her children.
I loved hearing about her experiences growing up in South Africa; it provided a glimpse into that culture which I had not seen before. She lost her mother all too soon, was hurt by some teachings in her spiritual community and didn’t plan on having a family. But she was to find out (like many of us do) that motherhood becomes an avenue of God’s healing love.
Lisa Jo Baker’s memoirs show us that even though motherhood turns out to be nothing like we dreamed of, thought about or planned, that God is in it, fitting all the pieces of our lives together like a beautiful mosaic, healing ourselves in the process. Her heart is to encourage moms and remind us that we are not alone.
You can win a copy of Lisa-Jo Baker’s book Surprised by Motherhood: Everything I Never Expected About Being a Mom! Use the entry form below for your chance to win.
This post is inspired by Lisa-Jo Baker’s upcoming memoir, Surprised by Motherhood. Read more about the author and the book.
About the Author:
Lisa-Jo Baker and her husband have three kids who color their lives, complicate their frequent travel, and are the reason she believes motherhood should come with a superhero cape. A child of South Africa, Lisa-Jo grew up on karoo dust, purple jacaranda trees, and the stories of Zululand. While she came to the States for college and a law degree, she stayed for the boy from Michigan who became her husband. They make their home under the cherry blossoms just outside Washington, DC, returning to the Southern Hemisphere whenever the craving for biltong and family gets too bad. Lisa-Jo is the social media manager for DaySpring, the Christian subsidiary of Hallmark, and the community manager for their website (in)courage. Lisa-Jo has blogged for Compassion International from Guatemala, is a contributor to HuffPost Parents, and shares her everyday life lived in between countries and kids at LisaJoBaker.com. She welcomes you to connect with her. Twitter: @lisajobaker; Facebook: www.facebook.com/lisajobaker; Blog: www.lisajobaker.com
water damage san francisco says
Quality posts is the main to be a focus for the users to
visit the website, that’s what this web page is providing.
susan smoaks says
i was surprised at how rewarding it is.
liz l says
The weight loss- not happening!
Adrien Beatty says
The unconditional love that my children have given, that there is hope aftr all of the years of Infertility. They have taught me that conception comes from the heart and it is something truly beautiful.
Maria B says
I am not a mom, but hope to be one real soon.
Veronica V says
I am not a mom yet but hoping to be in the near future 🙂
chrisgharmon says
One of the things that surprised me by motherhood was the sheer exhaustion and lack of sleep in the beginning!
Blessie Nelson says
How much effort and time goes into motherhood! Phew!
Angela Saver says
It surprised me how much I can love my little ones, so much more love than you realize!
[email protected]
Rebecca Parsons says
I didn’t realize how deep a mother’s love goes. I never imagined such a strong love and bond.
Yvonne says
I remember coming in the front door with my firstborn. I nervously sat down with him on the edge of the bed, while my husband went back downstairs to get my hospital bag from the car. When dh walked back in after having been gone for thirty seconds, I was sobbing uncontrollably. In those few silent moments by myself, I realized that I was a mother. My world was rocked.
Denise S says
That my kids didn’t turn out to be the perfect angels I thought they’d be!
Linda Kish says
I was surprised by how tolerant I became about everything.
Halona Luna says
Everything has surprised me about motherhood.
Danielle says
My capacity for love and ferocious nature of that love!
Brittany says
I was surprised by how much I love them and how much of a giver of myself I am for them. I give and would continue to give everything for them.
amyc says
How easy my kids can make me laugh. I never thought I could laugh as hard as I’m with them.
Laura Hix says
being #surprisedbymotherhood the most for me, was the sheer, unmeasurable, amount of love I have for my children. I never dreamed I could love one child as much as I do, much less the second child, then the two I gained when I married., The love is just so unmeasurable… add to that the infinite love I have for their children (my grandchildren) is just so much….
I am a selfish person by nature… (a huge downfall) but I melt completely when it comes to them. they are my life.
Jen M. says
I was surprised by how intense my love for them is, and also by how often I feel like I have no clue what I’m doing.
Meagan bs says
i think the better question is what didn’t surprise me, everything has been more powerful and fulfilling than i ever could have imagined.
Heather says
I hated the feeling I had after I gave birth. I loved being pregnant and having the babies with me at all times. It was so hard to leave them when I went back to work. I was lonely!
anne says
Mostly everything surprised me. But adapting to having a tiny person dependent upon you for everything.