I watched with interest along with the rest of the world as Princess Kate gave birth to her second child. I then read in amusement the many articles discussing her gorgeous appearance when she was seen barely 10 hours after birth. Articles pointing out that despite how beautiful she looked, us mothers knew that she was probably not feeling that great underneath the glow. That she, like us mere mortals, probably had mesh panties on under the pretty yellow and white skirt. And, it got me thinking. About how motherhood is the great equalizer. Something we can have in common even with a princess. No, you cannot escape the reality of motherhood even if you are a royal.
Once we get pregnant and start our journey towards life as a parent, we become part of a club. We may have all different kinds of birth experiences, parent differently and even partake in 'mommy wars,' but as mothers, we also have a way to relate to each other that is unlike anything else.
We know the exhaustion, analyzation and excitement of pregnancy. The strange transformation that happens to our bodies.
We know the preparation, agony and adrenaline of child birth. We all know about those mesh panties, cooling pads and fearful trips to the bathroom afterwards.
We know the sheer overwhelming exhaustion of those first weeks at home with a newborn. With our leaky breasts and postpartum hormones all over the place. Crying uncontrollably in fits and then feeling happier than ever all in the span of one afternoon.
We know the feeling of desperation and guilt when we can't figure out why our baby is crying or how to fix it.
We all wonder how we are going to make it as everything in our life is changing. Even if this is not our first baby, we feel it and we all go through it each time.
We know the blissful happiness brought on by a good breastfeeding session, a sleeping baby on our chest, or a slight smile from our baby in the quiet peaceful moments. We all know the contentment of lying on our couch, with our baby in our arms, feeling better than we ever have.
We know the joy that is found in watching our children grow. We know the bittersweet pain of watching them take more and more steps toward independence and having to let go.
We suddenly understand our own mothers better. We feel for them and feel badly about things we may have done. We get it now because we are living it.
We may not know the pain of losing a child personally, but suddenly every news story and article about this subject hurts. We know the pain of that mother and we feel it too.
So, I guess we have something in common with royalty after all. Motherhood is the great equalizer. Even if Princess Kate has all the help in the world, she is a mother and we feel empathy for her when she has to stand up in front of the cameras in her white skirt. We know that underneath the beautiful exterior is a mother who has just given birth! We know what that feels like and we commiserate as we wonder how she can look so good.
Motherhood brings us together. It doesn't matter what country, or culture we are from. We know as mothers, because while we are so different in so many ways, we are also the same.
This post originally appeared on Breastfeeding Needs. You can find Jennifer on Facebook and Twitter.