“For mamas everywhere

You don’t need to be perfect.
You must be yourself.
You have the right to fail,
To be exhausted,
And to ask for help when
You need it.
Does the perfect mother exist?
She does.
She’s you.”

I had no idea how much I needed
To read this book until today
I read it for the first time
With my first rainbow baby
Now 8, Bea
We snuggled together
And we smiled
And we laughed
And we cried

This brilliant and beautiful book
Is a celebration of mothers
And of motherhood

A collection of poetic reflections
And intimate portraits
Of mothers and their babies

This book moved me deeply
Because here is a book
For children
That recognises
Acknowledges
Shares baby loss
Shows the pain
Of losing a child
Shows the hurt
And confusion
And suffering
Of being a mother
With no baby to hold

I will forever be grateful
For those words
And that heartbreaking image
Of a mother stronger than she knows
I felt seen and heard
And understood
And that double page spread
Of this perfect picture book
Will stay with me always
Safely tucked among the
Other images I recognise

I see myself in
Mother of twins
Nursing my nurslings
Telling my car passengers
To get their finger
Out of their nose!

The beauty of this book
Is how intimate it feels
How close we feel to
The mothers and babies portrayed
How we see ourselves
Reflected in the portraits of strangers

As a mother of five children
This book felt like a gift
Of love and thanks
It felt like someone
Taking hold of me
And saying
Look, see
You are doing okay
More than okay
You are a mother
A perfect mother
Just the way you are

Even when you are tired
Even when you ignore
The unsolicited advice
Even when you wish
For a moment
You were somewhere else
Even on the days
You cannot make it out of the house

All of these things
These acts of love
Are what make you a mother

There is no love
Like a mother’s love
Bound up with fear
With worry
With hopes and dreams
With determination
Strength and the power to
Keep on keeping on
For your little one
The awe and wonder of new life
Of babies meeting smaller babies
Not yet born babies
Of all those hugs and
All those kisses
All those steps and stories
Leading and lighting the way
For our little ones
Helping them to find their way
As we ourselves find our way

There is no job like it in the world
Being a mother
Experiencing motherhood

And here it is
With all the emotion
Perfectly packaged in a
Picture book
Called simply
Mama

I am so very thankful for this book
I am exhausted, always
I fail, often
I should ask for help much more than I do
But I am a perfect mother
I am the best mother that I can be
And that is enough
Because everything I do
I do with love
For my children
On earth and in the sky
I am Mama

“My treasure,
My precious,
My miracle,
Stay warm in my strong arms.
Let me, for a few years more,
Be your fortress against the hardships of the world.”