What To Text Your Mom Friends About This Weekend

Here are your top Mom Group links to send you off into the weekend.

A writer let’s readers in on a secret about motherhood. (Hint: It’s actually fun.)

“Maybe we need to say that to each other a bit more. Maybe more of us would have children if it weren’t seen as such an exercise in sacrifice. If we weren’t told that we were going to lose every bit of the self we had finally grown to love.”

— "Rebranding Motherhood," by Diksha Bashu, The New York Times

How motherhood also brings with it the specter of everything you could lose. 

“No one had warned me that with a child comes death. Death slinks into your mind. It circles your growing body, and once your child has left it, death circles him too. It would be dangerous to turn your attentions away from your child—this is how the death presence makes you feel. ”

— "Mothers as Makers of Death," by Claudia Dey, The Paris Review

When #motherhoodthroughinstagram gets real. via Romper

““What that creates is a sense of ‘everyone else is doing it right,’” Gur explains to Romper, “And what that creates is a real sense of loneliness in many women, especially in the postpartum period when obviously you’ve just been through a major transition.””

— "This Is What Happens When You Show Real Motherhood On Instagram," by Risa Kerslake, Romper

A fertility tracking app that actually includes male partners.

““Historically, people have had the notion that infertility is caused by women, that it’s because of women. Not true, and not fair,” Huang says. . . Huang wanted it to be an app couples could use together. “It made sense to us to create an app that’s not just all-women,” he says. “It’s about the couple going through the ‘silent struggle’ together.””

— "How Fertility Apps Exclude Fathers," by Ashley Fetters, for The Atlantic

Why mom friends are absolutely essential during pregnancy and new motherhood.

“I trust these women more than anyone. We take advice from each other before doctors or parenting books. We often make different decisions for our children, and yet there is never a hint of judgment. As we’ve found our footing, our conversations have moved to topics beyond babies.”

— "The Absolute Necessity of the New-Mom Friend," by J. Courtney Sullivan, The New York Times

Image of Maya Angelou photographed by G. Marshall Wilson via Art.com