Two weeks ago, I gave birth to my second child. At home. In my bed. That was not the plan. I had a precipitous labor that led me to have a painful and frightening home birth, which the local fire department helped with. They made it to my home just in time to help me deliver my baby. Once I realized exactly what was happening- that I was delivering this baby here and now, with no pain medication- I somehow went into "Wonder Woman" mode and gave it all I had. Never in a million years would I have thought I could survive an experience like that. I tell this story because I learned something really important as a result of this experience. I learned that I often underestimate my strength as a woman.

  I think oftentimes as mothers, we all underestimate ourselves. We don't give ourselves enough credit. No matter what your lifestyle, being a mother is really, really hard. We question the way we discipline our children. We wonder if we are feeding them the best foods. We compare ourselves to other moms who make different decisions than we do. But we need to stop being so hard on ourselves. We are strong, capable women who are doing the best that we can as mothers. Even when our children yell "I hate you!", even when we wake up with regret from yesterday's decisions, even when our children move out and we no longer have control of their lives, we need to remember that we are stronger and more capable than we realize. When push comes to shove (and in my case, literally), I think we all enter "Wonder Woman" mode. We need to stop feeling inadequate and start believing in ourselves. We are strong, capable women. We are mothers.