When you become a mom, plenty of people have things to tell you to "just wait" for.
Just wait until you never sleep again.
Just wait until they start teething.
Just wait until they start crawling.
Just wait until the tantrums begin.
There always seems to be a difficult milestone waiting right around the corner.
And yes, motherhood comes with hard seasons. I'm not here to pretend otherwise.
But somewhere between all of the warnings, I think we forget to tell new moms about the things they should be excited for.
So, Mama, here are a few of the good "just waits" I wish someone had given me.
1. Just wait until your baby really smiles at you.
The real one.
You've spent weeks feeding your baby, rocking them, changing them, and trying to figure out what every little sound means.
Then one day, your baby looks at you and smiles.
Suddenly, you get something back.
And it's worth the wait.
2. Just wait until your baby starts looking for you.
At first, you're constantly watching.
Are they hungry? Tired? Cold? What is that noise they're making? Is that normal?
Then one mundane day, you realize they're watching you, too.
Someone else might be holding your little one, but they hear your voice and start looking around.
Then they find you.
There is something special about being in a room full of people and realizing your little one is looking for you.
No one "just waited" me for that one.
3. Just wait until your baby reaches for you.
I don't think there's much preparation for this one.
One day, those tiny arms you've spent months reaching toward will reach back.
For you.
It's such a small thing.
But motherhood has a funny way of making the smallest things feel enormous.
4. Just wait until your little one learns something new.
Rolling over.
Sitting up.
Crawling.
Clapping.
There will always be another milestone everyone asks about.
But one of the best parts isn't checking the milestone off a list.
It's watching your little one figure something new out.
And eventually, they'll start looking at you afterward as if to say:
"Mama, did you see that?"
Yes.
You saw it.
You are probably more excited than they are.
5. Just wait until an ordinary moment catches you off guard.
This might be my favorite one.
Nothing special is happening.
You're sitting on the floor playing.
You're carrying your baby through the house.
They're eating in their high chair.
You're rocking them before bed.
Then, for whatever reason, you look at your little one and think:
I want to remember this.
Motherhood has taught me that the moments I want to hold onto aren't always the big ones.
Sometimes they're Tuesdays.
6. Just wait until you realize you're going to miss this version of your baby.
Everyone tells you how quickly it goes.
I'm starting to understand why.
You spend so much time looking forward to what's next.
Sleeping longer. Sitting up. Crawling. Talking. Becoming a little more independent.
Then suddenly, something your baby used to do every day disappears.
You don't always know when you're experiencing the last time.
And that's made me want to pay a little more attention to the stage we're in instead of always looking toward the next one.
There are good things coming, too.
I'm sure I'll hear hundreds more “just waits” as my daughter grows.
Some of them will probably be true.
There will be hard stages. Long nights. New challenges I have absolutely no idea how to handle yet.
But there will also be new laughs.
New words.
New traditions.
New pieces of her personality.
New ordinary moments I'll wish I could keep.
So when another mom is standing at the beginning of a stage I've already walked through, I hope I remember to tell her about those things, too.
Not just what to brace herself for.
But what she gets to look forward to.
Just wait, Mama.
There is so much good coming.
Because not every “just wait” has to be a warning.