by Maggie Downs posted in Life

One night, early in my son's life, I woke up to the sound of a crying baby.
"Why won't somebody quiet that baby"" I thought. "Where is his mother""
It took me a long minute to realize the mother was me. I was supposed to be soothing this screaming child.
In that moment, it confirmed everything I feared -- I wasn't fit for this. I didn't know how to be a mom. My child deserved better.

Those thoughts had also plagued my pregnancy, which was unexpected because there was nothing I wanted more than to become a mom. I knew it on a rational level, and I accepted it in my heart. Having fertility issues and pushing through pregnancy loss confirmed how much I wanted to have a child. But that didn't stop the nagging fear that cast shadows over those early days of parenting. I was reminded of that time when I saw this BabyCenter Community post: "Emotional ? terrified to be a mom."
Poster Kamles wrote, "I'm so scared. I'm excited for my sweet baby. But I feel so unprepared, and so overwhelmed!! I want my baby to have a happy healthy life, and that's our responsibility! It's all happening so fast, and I cannot believe I'm going to actually be a mom. I feel like I have no clue how to care for a baby."
I empathized with all of that, and so did many other commenters.
LeighEliz responded, "Every good parent worries about if they're a good parent or not. Thing is, as long as you *care* about being a good...