It’s 2026 and March is already upon us. My little one turned three in January – yay! Since the start of the year, that is one of the few things I vividly recall. I work full time so I juggle between raising my daughter and the corporate mama life. It’s tough, but one manages.
The past two years, I didn’t feel the weight of March being a ‘mama’s month’. This year, I have felt it more intensely. I believe one reason is that my little one has grown so much. I am starting to rebuild and reconnect to parts of me, and to whom I have become after motherhood. In retrospect, the last two years were ultra focused on my daughter. I am so happy and proud of this focus. I see her doing certain things by herself. She engages in full-blown independent play. She attempts reading by flipping pages and reading out the story as she makes sense of it. She also mingles with other children easily and more confidently. All of this makes me wonder how my parents felt when I turned 18. They felt a sense of assurance that their daughter was all grown up.
My daughter started school at 2 years old at a nice early learning center. It was love at first sight for her. The day I went to visit the school in detail was significant for me. It was the very first time I let her wander out of sight for a good hour. She was thrilled to be there. The kids were so warm and welcoming to her. Of course, the ambiance was just a mix of the creative learning space I had created for her at home. So a good bunch of toys, colors, slides, and books were familiar to her. Seeing her blend in so well, I loved the school instantly as well. While speaking with the founder, we discovered that our thoughts on the present and futures of our young children aligned. There was nothing not to love.
Since turning 1, I had also been taking her to very helpful mama-initiated playgroups. This was not just fun for her; it was a happy place for me as well. A space where I felt seen, and my constant doubts seemed like normal rites of passage in motherhood. This is where I learned about the importance and value of mamas connecting. I also saw how my daughter’s interactions with other kids her age and a bit older helped her.
This year, we have added more activities. She is in dance and toddler taekwondo classes. She loves both. First day of ballet class was pure bliss as she got to celebrate her birthday (thank you Beyond Dance Studio). She loved it so much that her dance class is described to everyone one as ‘my birthday dance class’. She is also super proud of her taekwondo class. First time she came home repeating ‘red light’ … ‘green light’. Of course, I didn’t understand it at first. It wasn’t until much later, after her second class, that she was able to better explain what they had learned.
This past week while she was in class, I met and had mind-popping conversations with wonderful moms. If I could sum up the conversations we had, I would frame it as: ‘Motherhood is a Powerhouse!’ We talked about so many things. We shared ideas and experiences with food for our kids. We discussed activities, their developmental changes, and more. It was all quite refreshing. I left energized and content.
And what a brilliant experience those conversations have become in my present journey back to myself. I have read many times about the experience of becoming a mom. It is said that we lose some part of us that will never be restored. True. Yet again, there comes a point where a mom naturally starts finding herself again, and so I am learning. One thing I never mastered was the mommy brain effect. It seems this consumed a good chunk of my first 3 years of motherhood. There is a post that I read and really loved. It unpacked this phenomenon as not just a phase where we forget all else. This includes a last meal or drink that was had half an hour ago (topic for another day)! It explained that everything in us shifts towards nurturing and protecting a baby. It happens so automatically that it is all we (moms) eat, breathe, and sleep.
This mama’s month let’s commit to doing a little bit more for ourselves. I know it’s SO much easier said than done. However, we too can learn to take baby steps. We can do this little by little. In a nutshell, from my experience – we can do this:
- Join a mama’s group.
- Take 5-10 minutes each day for you (quiet time doing nothing).
- Blast your favorite song/dance to it.
- (If/when you can) do a solo spa date/drive/walk.
- When you need a moment to unload, just cry it out. (This is not weakness – in many African cultures, moms are expected/supposed to be strong all the time).
And with that, here’s a reminder that it is March. It’s Mama’s Month and Women’s Month. Why not set it as your time to kick start building yourself back, one little bit at a time!
Mama's Monthly 
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