Mom-of-5 shares insight into being a ‘Middle Mom’ and it's resonating with women going through same phase

The trajectory of motherhood is riddled with cuddles, soaked diapers, school drops, soccer practice and before you know it, graduation caps and gowns. Somewhere between bringing the baby home for the first time and bidding them adieu as they embark upon their adult life, motherhood zips by. That ‘in-between’ is a ‘Middle Mom’ who knows that her baby is growing up faster than she thought and while it’s a sigh of relief from sleepless nights, it’s also inching closer towards the inevitable empty nest. A TikTok video shared by Jenny Ashbay (@unexpected.blessings) throws light on being a ‘Middle Mom’. 

The video narrates a prose written by Emily Roussell called “I’m a Middle Mom” which reflects on how a middle mom is “a space that lingers between babies and bigs” with time slipping “right through my fingers like flowing water.” The mother of five who shared the video captioned it saying, “I’m now a mom of kiddos all in the 5-12 year age range and am suddenly acutely aware of how fast time flies.”

The video has shown a reality that seldom crosses our minds: time passing by and babies growing up. It shows Ashbay’s montage of time spent with her kids at different points in life. She can be seen going to the arcade, enjoying a baseball match, going to the waterpark, taking a trip to the adventure park or just baking with the kids. The audio reads: “She's a middle mom. There's no longer a baby on her hip, but she's not yet misty-eyed, marveling over caps and gowns. If you look far enough back into her kitchen cupboard, you might just find a sippy cup. There's a chance there's few bath toys in a long unused bin because before she had a chance to realize, showers became the norm.”

As the realization that time is unstoppable and babies will soon grow into adults seeps in, the video addresses a very important phase of motherhood that’s neither the beginning nor the end. The audio continues, “She's far enough in her motherhood to know just how fast it all goes, but not yet through the land of little. She's in a space that lingers between babies and bigs. She does her best to savor it because she can feel the rush of time. She grabs all of today because she's a middle mom.” TikTok users couldn’t get more emotional and other moms related to the video that talked about what all mothers go through. @kmarieth said, “I am not ready for this. Clinging to my two-year-old on my hip for as long as I can.” Another mom @amomexplores who could relate to the video commented, “We’re just entering this stage. Four kids ages 3-10. I’ve been calling these the golden years of parenting. My favorite stage so far!”

The video received 20.6K likes and the quintessential sentiments of being a middle mom brought awareness about a phase of life for every mother which is often left unrealised for the pleasures it brings with it. To all the middle moms out there, breathe and take it in because in the blink of an eye, they will all have grown up!