Motherhood: the job that has no off days … ever.
For most of us, our first words as a baby were “Da-da”. You’d think it would be “Ma-ma” but that’s seldom the case. That’s kind of crazy considering the amount of time we spend with our mother, especially before we’re born.
For nine months, we spend every second of every day in our mother’s womb. We eat with her, sleep with her, and hear all the same things.
With all these great and not so great experiences we get to share with our mothers, from the moment of conception it’s important to remember how special she is, and these motherhood quotes highlight some of the best (and worst) parts of being a mom.
Sometimes as kids or even as adults, we aren’t fully aware of the sacrifices our mothers made in deciding to have us. Maybe it’s because we’re just naive or normalize her sacrifices. Whatever the case may be, she has done a lot for us.
Being a mother is arguably one of the most fulfilling yet difficult roles you can take in life. Unlike the typical, 9 to 5, motherhood does not come with breaks, sick leave, vacation, or raises. It essentially has none of the benefits of a regular job. But yet, a mom still takes on this role. She does it all out of love.
Once you’re a mom, your life will never be the same. It goes from a life that use to revolve around you, to one that is centered around your children.
Talk to anyone who’s a been a mother or even pregnant, and you’ll find the common consensus, that even though motherhood is tough they wouldn’t trade it for the world. The life-altering commitment of motherhood is worth all the sleepless nights.
This collection of the very best motherhood quotes will serve as inspiration and encouragement to keep looking at the bright side of being a mom. They’d be perfect for a Mother’s Day card for an experienced mom, expectant mom, or anything in between.
1. After you become a mom nothing is the same.
“Motherhood changes everything.” ― Adriana Trigiani
2. Motherhood alters perspective.
“Having children just puts the whole world into perspective. Everything else just disappears.” — Kate Winslet
3. They’ll always be your little babies.
“Grown don’t mean nothing to a mother. A child is a child. They get bigger, older, but grown. In my heart, it don’t mean a thing.” — Toni Morrison
4. Motherhood is a gift.
“Motherhood is magical. It grants you the power to fall in love with someone before ever meeting them. It gifts you amazing instincts to look after your cubs. It fuels you in ways you can’t explain to keep you going no matter how exhausted you are. And it expands your heart and fills it with more love than you have ever felt.”
5. Motherhood is not a small task.
“Having kids—the responsibility of rearing good, kind, ethical, responsible human beings—is the biggest job anyone can embark on.” — Maria Shriver
6. Motherhood is your greatest right.
“Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother.” — Lin Yutang
7. Your kids think you’re the best mom.
“Being a mama can be tough, but always remember in the eyes of your child, no one does it better than you.”
8. A mother is a real-life goddess.
“In a child’s eyes, a mother is a goddess. She can be glorious or terrible, benevolent, or filled with wrath, but she commands love either way. I am convinced that this is the greatest power in the universe.” — N.K. Jemisin
9. You are born again when you become a mother.
“For when a child is born the mother also is born again.” ― Gilbert Parker
10. Comfort is found in a mother’s arm.
“A mother’s arms are more comforting than anyone else’s.” ― Princess Diana
11. Moms care so much that they desire to be perfect.
“You’re always going to wonder if you’re doing things wrong, but that’s what it means to be a mom, to care so much about someone else that you just want to be as perfect as possible.” — Naya Rivera
12. God created moms for a purpose.
“God could not be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers.” ― Rudyard Kipling
13. Mother is an action word.
“Mother is a verb. It’s something you do. Not just who you are.” — Cheryl Lacey Donovan
14. A child is a blessing.
“A child is the most beautiful gift this world has to give.”
15. Mothers are the greatest spiritual teachers.
“I believe the choice to become a mother is the choice to become one of the greatest spiritual teachers there is.” — Oprah Winfrey
16. Women are lucky enough to experience pregnancy.
“Babies are bits of star-dust blown from the hand of God. Lucky the woman who knows the pangs of birth for she has held a star.” — Larry Barretto
17. Her love is forever.
“A mother’s love endures through all.” — Washington Irving
18. Motherhood is a gamble.
“[Motherhood is] the biggest gamble in the world. It is the glorious life force. It’s huge and scary—it’s an act of infinite optimism.” — Gilda Radner
19. There is nothing shameful about desiring to be a wife and mother.
“It’s okay if your dream in life is to be a good wife and mama.”
20. You learn as you go.
“You don’t take a class; you’re thrown into motherhood and learn from experience.” ― Jennie Finch
21. A mother is a life guide.
“Life doesn’t come with a manual, it comes with a mother.”
22. Mothers are the original influencers.
“The influence of a mother in the lives of her children is beyond calculation.”—James E. Faust
23. To be a mom is to bring new life.
“There is such a special sweetness in being able to participate in creation.” — Pamela S. Nadav
24. Motherhood is amazing, but by no means easy.
“Motherhood is the greatest thing and the hardest thing.” ― Ricki Lake
25. A mother’s love is the purest form.
“When you look into your mother’s eyes, you know that is the purest love you can find on this earth.” ― Mitch Albom
26. Entering motherhood is life-altering whatever the circumstance may be.
“Whether your pregnancy was meticulously planned, medically coaxed, or happened by surprise, one thing is certain—your life will never be the same.” — Catherine Jones
27. Mothers give love graciously.
“Mother’s love is peace. It need not be acquired, it need not be deserved.” ― Erich Fromm
28. To be a mom is to share half of you with someone else.
“It makes me smile knowing that my sweet little baby is half me and half the person I love.”
29. A mom will forever hold your heart.
“Mothers hold their children’s hands for a short while, but their hearts forever.”
30. Mothering is teaching children how to live.
“The art of mothering is to teach the art of living to children.” — Elaine Heffner
31. A mother has a forgiving heart.
“The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness. ― Honore de Balzac
32. Moms are teachers.
“A child’s first teacher is its mother.” ― Peng Liyuan
33. Motherhood is about finding strength.
“Even when my soul is tired, I will always find strength for my children.”
34. A mom can take the role of many, but no one else can be her.
“A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take.” ― Cardinal Meymillod
35. Motherhood is not an opportunity to be taken for granted.
“There are many things in life I have taken for granted, but the opportunity and ability to be a mama will never be one of them.”
36. Words can’t capture the heroism of a mother’s love.
“No language can express the power and beauty and heroism of a mother’s love.” — Edwin Chapin
37. Women are strong, especially mothers.
“We have a secret in our culture, and it’s not that birth is painful. It’s that women are strong.” — Laura Stavoe Harm
38. A mother’s love leaves an everlasting impact.
“He didn’t realize that love as powerful as your mother’s for you leaves its own mark.” ― JK Rowling
39. Motherhood is an honor.
“What an honor it is to be a tiny somebody’s everything.”
40. A mother’s love is real love.
“The only love that I really believe in is a mother’s love for her children.” — Karl Lagerfeld
41. Nothing is superior to the beauty of a mother.
“It may be possible to gild pure gold, but who can make his mother more beautiful?” — Mahatma Gandhi
42. Moms put others first.
“A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.” — Tenneva Jordan
43. Taking on motherhood is a big decision.
“Making a decision to have a child—it’s momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” — Elizabeth Stone
44. Your kids are always with you.
“She never quite leaves her children at home, even when she doesn’t take them along.” — Margaret Culkin Banning
45. Motherhood is the essence of selflessness.
“The natural state of motherhood is unselfishness. When you become a mother, you are no longer the center of your own universe. You relinquish that position to your children.” — Jessica Lange
46. There is safety in a mother’s arm.
“A mother’s arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them.” ― Victor Hugo
47. Motherhood is the holiest service.
“Motherhood is near to divinity. It is the highest, holiest service to be assumed by mankind.”― Howard W. Hunter
48. Your new family is the most important to you.
“The family you come from is important, but the family you come from is the number one priority.”
49. A mother’s smile is not your typical smile.
“My mom smiled at me. Her smile kind of hugged me.” — R.J. Palacio
50. The day you become a mom is magical.
“The most magical day of my life was the day I became a mother.”
51. The payoffs of motherhood are priceless.
“Supermom wasn’t a bad job description. The pay was lousy if you were talking about real money. But the payoff was priceless in so many other ways.”― Roxanne Henke
52. Struggling doesn’t mean you aren’t a successful mother.
“Successful mothers are not the ones that have never struggled. They are the ones that never give up, despite the struggles.” — Sharon Jaynes
53. Being a mother is a choice you must make every day.
“Motherhood is a choice you make every day, to put someone else’s happiness and well-being ahead of your own, to teach the hard lessons, to do the right thing even when you’re not sure what the right thing is…and to forgive yourself, over and over again, for doing everything wrong.” — Donna Ball
54. The best love comes from your womb.
“The best love in the world is the love of a man. The love of a man who came from your womb, the love of your son! I don’t have a daughter, but maybe the love of a daughter is the best, too. I am first and foremost me, but right after that, I am a mother. The best thing that I can ever be, is me. But the best gift that I will ever have, is being a mother.”― C. JoyBell C.
55. Being a mother is more than sharing the same genetics.
“Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother.” — Oprah Winfrey
56. Becoming a mother adds to your purpose.
“From the moment I became a mother, my purpose has been to love and protect my children with everything I have.”
57. Mothers are accepting.
Mother’s ways are higher than others, even when everyone rejects, mother accepts with her arms open and wide.” — Amit Ray
58. Motherhood teaches you about life.
“As a parent, we try our best to teach our children all about life, but really they are the ones teaching us what life is all about.”
59. Mothers give a liberating love.
“A mother’s love liberates.” — Maya Angelou
60. A mother is a mother.
“A mother is a mother from the moment her baby is first placed in her arms until eternity. It didn’t matter if her child were three, thirteen, or thirty.”― Sarah Strohmeyer
61. Being a mom is self-taught.
“I think birth and motherhood are not things that you’re trained to do. You might have a good example in your own mum, but nobody teaches you how to be a really great mum.” ― Julie Andrews
62. Motherhood shifts your focus.
“Motherhood has most definitely changed me and my life. It’s so crazy how drastic even the small details change – in such an amazing way. Even silly things, like the fact that all of my pictures on my cell phone used to be of me at photoshoots – conceited, I know! – but now every single picture on my phone is of Mason.” ― Kourtney Kardashian
63. Motherhood isn’t always joyous.
“Motherhood is so sentimentalized and romanticized in our culture. It’s practically against the law to say there are moments in the day when you hate your children. Everyone actually has those moments.” ― Barbara Kingsolver
64. A mom will always check up on you.
“No matter how old my child gets, I still check in on them while they are sleeping.”
65. You continue to evolve as a mom.
“Motherhood is such an evolving journey.” ― Solange Knowles
66. Motherhood can be a goal.
“My biggest goal for the future is motherhood.” ― Misty May-Treanor
67. Mothers will always be who you need them to be.
“I will be your biggest fan. I will be your protector. I will always defend you. I will be your teacher. I will be your friend. I will be your confidant. I will always be proud of you. I will love you unconditionally because forever and always I will be your mama.”
68. Pregnancy and motherhood are natural miracles.
“A miracle is really the only way to describe motherhood and giving birth. It’s unbelievable how God has made us women and babies to endure and be able to do so much. A miracle, indeed. Such an incredible blessing.” ― Jennie Finch
69. Mothers are gardeners of the soul.
“Being a mother is like being a gardener of souls. You tend your children, make sure the light always touches them; you nourish them. You sow your seeds, and reap what you sow.”― Karen White
70. We will always want our mother.
“The truth is that no matter how old we are, as long as our mothers are alive, we want our mother. And it’s a very powerful relationship if it’s healthy.” — Goldie Hawn
71. Mothers who work are heroes.
“Mothers who work full time – they’re the real heroes.” — Kate Winslet
72. Motherhood is a way to live on.
“Motherhood is neither a duty nor a privilege, but simply the way that humanity can satisfy the desire for physical immortality and triumph over the fear of death.”― West
72. Parenting is about teaching your kids how to live without you.
“The mother-child relationship is paradoxical and, in a sense, tragic. It requires the most intense love on the mother’s side, yet this very love must help the child grow away from the mother, and to become fully independent.”― Erich Fromm
73. Motherhood is the highest paying profession.
Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs… since the payment is pure love. ― Mildred B. Vermont
74. Mothers teach independence.
“A mother is not a person to lean on, but a person to make leaning unnecessary.” ― Dorothy Canfield Fisher
75. A mother’s love is constant.
“Whatever else is unsure in this stinking dunghill of a world a mother’s love is not. “ ― James Joyce
76. Your mother plays a large role in your success.
“My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual, and physical education I received from her.” ― George Washington
77. Every day should be mother’s day.
“Despite the fact that we ought to show adoration to your mother each and every day, Mother’s Day is that one day when we demonstrate the most love for you and make you feel like a Queen.” ― Sheila Sage
78. Mothers always want to see their children improve.
“No matter how old a mother is, she watches her middle-aged children for signs of improvement.” ― Florida Scott-Maxwell
79. Mothers want the best for their children.
“She (mother) pushed us to always try harder, to want the best out of our lives, and to always be strong – a lesson she was forced to learn herself when we were all still young.”―Willie Davis
80. A mother is a source of light.
“A mother is a woman who shows you the light when you just see the dark.” ― Grimaldos Robin
81. Moms are philosophers.
“Most mothers are instinctive philosophers.” — Harriet Beecher Stowe
82. Mother is a beautiful word.
“Mother: the most beautiful word on the lips of mankind.” ―Kahlil Gibran
83. Motherhood is filled with joyous moments.
The joy in motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times, but amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction.”— M. Russell Ballard
84. Mothers will always be mothers.
“Mothers never retire, no matter how old her children are she is always a Mom, always willing to encourage and help her children in any way she can!”― Catherine Pulsifer
85. Mother’s are the most genuine friends.
“A mother is the truest friend we have. When trials heavy and sudden fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.” — Washington Irving
86. You can always count on your mother.
“A mother is one to whom you hurry when you are troubled.” — Emily Dickinson
87. A mother’s love sustains a family.
“My mother’s love has always been a sustaining force for our family, and one of my greatest joys is seeing her integrity, her compassion, her intelligence reflected in my daughters.” ― Michelle Obama
89. Being a mom is awesome, but hard.
“Motherhood is more awesome than I ever thought it could be and harder than I ever would have imagined.” ―Sarah Williams
90. Motherhood makes you more self-aware.
“Being a mother is learning about strengths you didn’t know you had, and dealing with fears you didn’t know existed.” — Linda Wooten
91. A mother’s love is whole.
“A mother’s love is whole no matter how many times it’s divided.”
92. Motherhood is humbling.
“Motherhood has completely changed me. It’s just about like the most completely humbling experience that I’ve ever had. I think that it puts you in your place because it really forces you to address the issues that you claim to believe in, and if you can’t stand up to those principles when you’re raising a child, forget it.” — Diane Keaton
93. Mothers are the driving force of success.
“Behind every famous and influential person there is a driving force and in many cases, this driving force is the unfailing love and support of their mothers.” ― Lisa Valentine
94. The love at a mother is experienced at first sight.
“I believe in love at first sight because I’ve been loving my mother since I opened my eyes.”
95. Motherhood gives you a new life.
“Being a young mom means that we met a little early, but it also means I get to love you a little longer. Some people said that my life ended when I had a baby, but my life had just begun. You didn’t take away from my future, you gave me a new one.”
96. A mother’s love is instantaneous and forgiving.
“Mothers and children are in a category all their own. There’s no bond so strong in the entire world. No love so instantaneous and forgiving.” — Gail Tsukiyama
97. A mother-child bond is defined by love.
“The bond between mothers and their children is defined by love. As a mother’s prayers for her children are unending, so are the wisdom, grace, and strength they provide to their children.” — President George W. Bush
98. Being a mom makes you emotionally raw.
“I have found being a mother has made me emotionally raw in many situations. Your heart is beating outside your body when you have a baby.” — Kate Beckinsale
99. Motherhood is your birthright.
“You have nothing in this world more precious than your children. When you grow old, when your hair turns white and your body grows weary, when you are prone to sit in a rocker and meditate on the things of your life, nothing will be so important as the question of how your children have turned out. … Do not trade your birthright as a mother for some bauble of passing value. … The baby you hold in your arms will grow quickly as the sunrise and sunset of the rushing days.” — Gordon B. Hinckley
100. A mother is a root.
“My mother is my root, my foundation. She planted the seed that I base my life on, and that is the belief that the ability to achieve starts in your mind.”— Michael Jordan
