When did you become a mother? (i.e.
, birth/adoption of first child)
-Birth after 1 miscarriage
How many children do/did you have?
-2
Why did you decide to become a mother?
-Me and my husband's relationship continued to progress, and we got to the point
where we wanted to start a family together
When would you say that motherhood started for you? (e.g., when you found out you
were pregnant, during the birthing process, after you met your child for the first
time, etc.)
-When I found out I was pregnant
-Opinion may have been different if it weren't for miscarriage, still fondly
remembers experience before what would have been my first child
In both positive and negative ways, what do you feel that you lost when you entered
motherhood?
-Lost the ability to teach as a preschool teacher due to having to look after kids
In both a positive and/or negative way, what do you feel that you gained when you
entered motherhood?
Since I was working as a preschool teacher beforehand, having children gave me a
whole new empathetic relationship on raising them that affects my teaching today
How did you mentally prepare for motherhood?
-Honestly was pretty anxious about motherhood but I was mainly able to be motivated
towards it by my husband
How did you physically prepare for motherhood?
-Buying baby food, supplies, baby safe toys and dishware, baby clothes, preparing a
room in the house to be the baby's room
How did you spiritually prepare for motherhood?
-Not very spiritual when it comes to the idea of preparing for motherhood, but did
believe that good karma after miscarriage would hopefully lead to a good future
with other children
How did you financially prepare for motherhood?
-Husband was earning enough at his job so much so that I could afford to stop
working full-time, only had to work on weekends for a little bit of supplemental
income
What are the most challenging parts of motherhood?
-Seeing my children grow up and start to become different people than I initially
anticipated, still having to support them even if I don't agree with their life
choices and worry for them
What are the most rewarding parts of motherhood?
-The experience is very emotionally enriching and it gave me a new empathetic
perspective, one that I'm to reflect on when teaching preschool currently
How is motherhood similar to or different from how you thought it would be?
-It is different in the way that how I wanted to raise my kids ended up being quite
different from how a lot of my friends raised their kids, so if anything I didn't
expect to feel disconnected from other moms during motherhood
What/who influenced/encouraged you to become a mother?
-I would say mostly my husband due to his motivation of wanting to raise kids
together and continue our relationship
Did you have support from your loved ones about your decision to become a mother?
-Overall, pretty much yes
Whenever you have questions about your motherhood practices or how to handle a
situation with your children, who do you reach out to? Why that particular person?
-I would originally reach out to my mother due to her experience in raising me, but
I started to rely on her less and less as time went on due to the difference in how
she raised me to how I wanted to raise my children
Was passing on your cultural beliefs, such as language, religion, recipes,
clothing, etc., to your children important? Why or why not?
-Culture surrounding religion and recipes were very important to me, as I wanted to
promote the good moral values from catholicism to make my children good people, as
well as recipes for the fact that I wanted my children to have expanded palates and
not be picky eaters like so many other children are
What are some examples of how you taught/or plan to teach your children about your
or your partner’s culture?
-Sent my children to a religious preschool to teach them about christianity and
catholicism
-Made my children participate in pratices and trips that connected them to their
heritage of Italian Americans
Do you believe that society expects mothers to behave/look a certain way? If so,
how?
-I believe society expects mothers to have complete control over their kids and
also, somewhat expects them to not dress in ways that make them reflects them
feeling comfortable in their own body
Based on observations, do you think that motherhood differs from fatherhood? Why or
why not, and in which ways?
-In a lot of ways, fatherhood does not much differ from motherhood, but societal
expectations defintely push men into the role where they have to take on more
financial responsibility, causing them to have somewhat less of a connection to
raising the children
What sets motherhood apart from other rites of passages that you have experienced,
such as graduating high school, attending college, getting married, buying a home,
losing a parent, etc.?
-Motherhood is different than other rites of passage because it is one of giving,
most other rites celebrate your own acheivements, but motherhood is one of the few
rites that sees you step into a role where you completely devote yourself to giving
another person, your child, a good life
Do you wish you would have transitioned into motherhood earlier, later, or neither?
Why is that?
-Neither, I was honestly quite comfortable with when I began to have children, I
think it was during a comfortable time in my life to start
What does Mother’s Day mean to you?
-Since I'm not as connected to my children due to them moving away, Mother's Day
serves as a day to reflect on the years of raising them, as well as an opportunity
to reconnect with my kids
If you can sum up motherhood in one word, what would it be?
Educational
