I want to talk about the teary mama phenomenon...
When I was pregnant, any kind of parent-offspring related thing would make be feel extremely emotional, often with tears. Good stuff. Bad stuff. Anything that made me think about that parent-child relationship made me struggle to hold back tears.
It got worse once my baby was born.
Hormones, right? I nursed for almost a year and a half, and I always figured it was all those wonderful hormones, first progesterone and then prolactin and all the other things involved in those pathways.
But you know what, I STILL cry at the drop of a hat. The other evening my daughter wanted to watch youtube videos of songs from the movie Frozen. As I watched her watching with such intensity, I teared up.
And then there was that asshole who shot and killed the father of the sick 22 month old in the movie theater in Florida for texting the baby sitter during the movie previews.
I just watched the P&G Thank You, Mom commercial on youtube. Tears, streaming down my face.
I could go on and on and on, as this is just about a daily occurrence.
I'm not nursing anymore, haven't nursed in about a year and a half. So my teary-mama thing can't be related to hormones. I'm totally back to my old self physiologically, EXCEPT for how my brain has changed. It is so incredibly interesting that millions of years of evolution have resulted in someone's brain actually altering when you become a mama, so much so that I am THAT emotionally connected to my offspring that just thinking about the parent-child relationship of other people (in good and bad scenarios) makes me cry.
Does this happen to all mamas? It sure seems like it happens to women who adopt too, so I wonder if there is something about caring for a baby intensely that works to reconnect neural networks... how does that work? What about daddies? Does it happen to everyone? And if so, where does that go when people do really mean things to other people? I can't help but think of how much hurting someone makes their mama hurt too...
When I was pregnant, any kind of parent-offspring related thing would make be feel extremely emotional, often with tears. Good stuff. Bad stuff. Anything that made me think about that parent-child relationship made me struggle to hold back tears.
It got worse once my baby was born.
Hormones, right? I nursed for almost a year and a half, and I always figured it was all those wonderful hormones, first progesterone and then prolactin and all the other things involved in those pathways.
But you know what, I STILL cry at the drop of a hat. The other evening my daughter wanted to watch youtube videos of songs from the movie Frozen. As I watched her watching with such intensity, I teared up.
And then there was that asshole who shot and killed the father of the sick 22 month old in the movie theater in Florida for texting the baby sitter during the movie previews.
I just watched the P&G Thank You, Mom commercial on youtube. Tears, streaming down my face.
I could go on and on and on, as this is just about a daily occurrence.
I'm not nursing anymore, haven't nursed in about a year and a half. So my teary-mama thing can't be related to hormones. I'm totally back to my old self physiologically, EXCEPT for how my brain has changed. It is so incredibly interesting that millions of years of evolution have resulted in someone's brain actually altering when you become a mama, so much so that I am THAT emotionally connected to my offspring that just thinking about the parent-child relationship of other people (in good and bad scenarios) makes me cry.
Does this happen to all mamas? It sure seems like it happens to women who adopt too, so I wonder if there is something about caring for a baby intensely that works to reconnect neural networks... how does that work? What about daddies? Does it happen to everyone? And if so, where does that go when people do really mean things to other people? I can't help but think of how much hurting someone makes their mama hurt too...
I tear up all the time, it's quite embarrassing. Whenever someone talks about their kids or even another type of very strong emotional connection, I get all misty-eyed. I have even teared up with my students or acquaintances when I talked about my kids... So you are not alone!
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of parent-child bond, this one really made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
I changed in that I can't stand to see violence, especially to kids. Started watching "Trainspotting" post-kids. *click* off it went. Farewell my Concubine *CLICK* *SHUDDER*. I feel very sensitive.
ReplyDeleteIt happened to me... I used to never cry but now, since becoming a mom, I'm just too sensitive.
ReplyDeleteA few weeks ago, we went to my friend's daughter's party (turning 2) and Zoe was participating and I choked up while I was talking to someone about something totally unrelated. I just caught a glimpse of her and my husband out of the corner of my eye and it was so sweet.