'Motherhood Is Going To Change You, And You May Or May Not Like It'

Last March 2021, we asked our readers to submit their answers to this question: “How did Smart Parenting help you on your parenting journey?”

We’ve chosen the 10 finalists who come from all over the country. But YOU get to decide who goes home with P100,000 by voting for the story that touched you the most (scroll below to vote!).

Click here to see who got the most votes from Smart Parenting readers!

One of the #MySmartParentingStory finalists is Judy Marie Santiago-Aladin, who was inspired to blog because of Smart Parenting. What does she wish someone told her about motherhood?

“Each mother’s journey is unique. As much as you want to help make their lives easier, as much as you may feel like you’ve been there, sometimes the best help you can offer is to listen, and to keep your mouth shut.”

She adds, “Motherhood is not the same for everyone, so you don’t compare yourself with others. At the same time, never belittle the struggles of other moms.”

Judy’s Smart Parenting story is about her fears and her strengths

When I felt like I was failing as a mother, Smart Parenting reminded me that I am not alone. When I felt like I was invisible to the world, Smart Parenting was there to tell my story.

As a first-time mom, I was scared. My baby was born prematurely, and she stayed in the NICU for 20 days. On her first night at home, it dawned on me that I am accountable for the life of another human being — a tiny baby weighing only four pounds in our case.

Whenever I look at her, I feel so much love and so much fear — that I’m not good enough, and other people would see that and take her away from me again.

So I committed myself to learn. I would spend hours and hours reading Smart Parenting’s articles about SIDS, self-care, and breastfeeding. It was my only light in the dead of night. As my husband and baby slept, I would stay up late to read to be a better mom in the morning.

They say it takes a village to raise a child — Smart Parenting Village was mine. The Facebook group became my safe space.

When I shared about shaving my head because of postpartum hair loss, one mom shared her photo with me and said, “Mommy, me too.” When I quit my job to be a full-time mother, I felt like I lost my purpose.

In one of my darkest days, I told myself, “I will write, and I will be published, so that I’d know people can still see me.” I wrote my birthing story, and Smart Parenting published it.

This inspired me to set up my Bagong Nanay blog to be more than just a blog — it became a platform for first-time moms to empower others by telling their stories.

Smart Parenting reminded me that it’s okay to be scared. What’s important is I never stop asking, trying, and learning. After all, I was never after being a perfect mom. I’m all for being a good and smart one.

Love Judy’s story? Click her name below to vote so she brings home P100,000!

Want to read the other finalists' stories before voting? You can find all 10 entries here! Voting is until May 15.

While you can vote multiple times using this poll, the results you see do not reflect the actual validated numbers. Did you vote 10 times for one candidate? That will only be considered as 1 vote. So we highly encourage you to vote once and ask your friends to cast their votes as well.

The final winner will be based on the number of unique votes at the end of the voting period. Here's where the voting is so far according to unique votes.

As one of our 10 finalists, Judy will receive:

• An ible Airvida Wearable Air Purifier worth P8,795
• P2,000 worth of gift certificates
• A chance to win P100,000, tax-free, of course!

Submitted entries are edited only for spelling, punctuation, grammar, and formatting.