Relax, Enjoy and Breathe in That New Baby Smell—Here Are 150 New Mom Quotes

The journey to motherhood is filled with a variety of emotions. From the minute you find out you're expecting, to the second you lay your eyes on your newborn baby, life changes rapidly—and that's putting it lightly! Whether you're looking for new mom quotes to share in your baby announcement, or funny new mom quotes for Instagram captions, or some parenting quotes about being a first-time mom, these are the best new mom quotes.

Whether you're up in the middle of the night for a feeding, or trying to relax as your tiny little sidekick soaks up some sleep, browsing quotes for new moms will help you pass the time. Maybe you're having trouble sleeping in the weeks leading up to the arrival of your new baby and are looking for new mom quotes and sayings that you can store in your phone for when the time comes to share your happy news with the world on social media. Whatever your reason may be, look no further than below for first-time mom quotes!

150 New Mom Quotes

1. “A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past is forgotten and the future worth living for.” — Unknown

2. Whenever you feel like you are failing, look in the eyes of your child, and know your value.” — Unknown

3. “Sometimes, when you pick up your child, you can feel the map of your own bones beneath your hands, or smell the scent of your skin in the nape of his neck. This is the most extraordinary thing about motherhood – finding a piece of yourself separate and apart, that all the same, you could not live without.” – Jodi Picoult

4. “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

5. “Being a mother is the most rewarding blessing in the world, just knowing you can love someone so much, and get that same love in return is wonderful." — Unknown

6. “It’s ok to be grumpy sometimes, to have bad days to struggle, to make mistakes, to say the wrong thing, feel overwhelmed and under-appreciated, to be out-of-sorts and sort-of-over-it all. It’s ok for us big humans, and it’s ok for our little humans, too. After all, we’re all humans, right? How else will our little humans learn that it’s okay to be human? Remember, we’re imperfect humans growing imperfect humans in an imperfect world, and that’s perfectly okay.” – L.R. Knost

7. “The choice to become a mother is the choice to become one of the greatest spiritual teachers there is.” – Oprah

8. “Just as there is no warning for childbirth, there is no preparation for the sight of a first child. There should be a song for women to sing at this moment or a prayer to recite. But perhaps there is none because there are no words strong enough to name the moment.” – Anita Diamant

9. “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 perfect as possible.” – Naya Rivera

10. "Motherhood – It 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.” — Unknown

11. “Everything grows rounder and wider and weirder, and I sit here in the middle of it all and wonder who in the world you will turn out to be.” – Carrie Fisher

12. “Having kids – the responsibility of rearing good, kind, ethical, responsible human beings is the biggest job anyone can embark on.” – Maria Shriver

13. “No one else will ever know the strength of my love for you. After all, you’re the only one who knows what my heart sounds like from the inside.” — Unknown

14. “A baby fills a place in your heart that you never knew was empty.” — Unknown

15. “Before you were conceived, I wanted you. Before you were born, I loved you. Before you were here, I would die for you. This is the miracle of Mother’s love.” – Maureen Hawkins

16. “A baby arrives, and just like that everything changes. The world gets bigger, heart grows fuller, and life means more.” — Unknown

17. “Being a mother is the most rewarding blessing in the world, just knowing you can love someone so much, and get that same love in return is wonderful.” — Unknown

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18. "A baby is something you carry inside you for nine months, in your arms for three years and in your heart till the day you die.” – Mary Mason

19. “A miracle is 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

20. “You’ll learn to lower your expectations about what you can accomplish in a day. Some days, it will be all you can do to keep a baby safe, warm, and fed, and that will be enough.” — Unknown

21. “You will never have this day with your children again tomorrow. They will be a little older than they were today. This day is a gift just breathe and notice, smell and touch them, study their faces and little feet, pay attention, relish the charm of the present. Enjoy today.” — Unknown

22. “Be patient with yourself. You and your baby are both learning new things each day.” — Unknown

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23. “There are places in the heart you don’t even know exist until you love a child.” – Anne Lamott

24. “Motherhood is messy and challenging, and crazy, and sleepless, and giving, and unbelievably beautiful.” — Unknown

25. “You’re doing a great job, mom, even when you don’t feel like it.” — Unknown

26. "There’s no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one.” – Jill Churchill

27. "What good mothers and fathers instinctively feel like doing for their babies is usually best after all.” – Benjamin Spock

28. "Birth takes a woman’s deepest fears about herself and show her that she is stronger than them.” – Unknown

29. "The best thing about being a new mom is the lower tolerance from not drinking for nine months.” – Anonymous

30. “Hold on to the tiny moments and cherish the little snuggles. They grow up so fast.” — Unknown

31. "A mother does not become pregnant in order to provide employment to medical people. Giving birth is an ecstatic jubilant adventure not available to males. It is a woman’s crowning creative experience of a lifetime.” — Unknown

32. "Sleep is like the unicorn—it is rumored to exist, but I doubt I will see any.” – Unknown

33. "Motherhood: All love begins and ends there." — Unknown

34. "When life gets hard and you feel alone, remember, you mean the world to somebody and that somebody calls you mom.” — Unknown

35. "There are hard days in motherhood. But looking at your sleeping baby reminds you why it’s all worth it.” — Unknown

36. “To be motherly means to be both strong and nurturing.” — Unknown

37. "Being a mother means that your heart is no longer yours; it wanders where ever your children go.” — Unknown

38. "A child is the most beautiful gift this world has to give.” — Unknown

39. “To be pregnant is to be vitally alive, thoroughly woman, and distressingly inhabited. Soul and spirit are stretched – along with body – making pregnancy a time of transition, growth, and profound beginnings.” – Anne Christian Buchanan

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40. "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

41. "The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new.” – Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh

42. “A mother continues to labor long after the baby is born.” – Lisa Jo Baker

43. "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

44. “Hey, mama. I see you stressed out, tired, touched out, stretched thin, irritable, snappy, imperfect, short-tempered, grumpy, crying, it’s okay. Everybody has been there; it sucks, but you are good. You are a good mom, say it, believe it.” — Unknown

45. "We have a secret in our culture, and it’s not that birth is painful. It’s that women are strong.” – Laura Stavoe Harm

46. "Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” – Elizabeth Stone

47. "Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.” – Barbara Kingsolver

48. "Birth is the epicenter of women’s power.” – Ani DiFranco

49. "I like to think of motherhood as a great big adventure. You set off on a journey, you don’t really know how to navigate things, and you don’t exactly know where you’re going or how you’re going to get there.” – Cynthia Rowley

50. "Being a mom has made me so tired. And so happy.” – Tina Fey

51. "Mother is a verb. It’s something you do. Not just who you are.” – Dorothy Canfield Fisher

52. "A mother’s arms are more comforting than anyone else’s.” – Princess Diana

53. "A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take.” – Cardinal Mermillod

54. "My favorite thing about being a mom is just what a better person it makes you on a daily basis." – Drew Barrymore

55. "No matter your age, you will always need your mom.” – Unknown

56. "A mother is your first friend, your best friend, your forever friend.” – Unknown

57. "When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.” – Sophia Loren

58. "A mother’s love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible” – Marion C. Garretty.

59. "There is nothing as powerful as mother’s love, and nothing as healing as a child’s soul.” – Unknown

60. “I’ve never had more appreciation for anyone in my entire life until I became a mom.” – Chrissy Teigen

61. "Moms are the people who know us the best and love us the most.” – Unknown

62. "My daughter introduced me to myself.” – Beyoncé Knowles

63. "Of all the things my hands have held, the best, by far, is you.” – Unknown

64. "A mother’s love endures through all.” – Washington Irving

65. "Just when you think you know love, something little comes along and reminds you just how big it is.” – Unknown

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66. "Becoming a mother makes you realize you can do almost anything one-handed.” – Unknown

67. "Motherhood: if you think my hands are full, you should see my heart.” – Unknown

68. "The most magical day of my life was the day I became a mother.” — Unknown

69. "If you’re worried about being a good mother, it means you already are one.” — Unknown

70. "Having children just puts the whole world into perspective. Everything else just disappears.” – Kate Winslet

71. "I’ve carried a child within my body. I’ve slept with them on my chest. I’ve kissed toes and wiped away tears. I’ve been vomited on, peed on, and spent sleepless nights cradling my child. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. My body isn’t magazine perfect but when I look in the mirror, I see a mama. And there is no greater honor, love or blessing.” — Unknown

72. "I’m proud of many things in life but nothing beats being a mother.” – Unknown

73. "Motherhood is the greatest thing and the hardest thing.” – Ricki Lake

74. "Everything has changed, and yet, I’m more me than I’ve ever been.” – Iain Thomas

75. "Being a mama can be tough, but always remember in the eyes of your child, no one does it better than you.” — Unknown

76. "The best place to cry is on a mother's arms." — Jodi Picoult

77. "A mother’s arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them." — Victor Hugo

78. "Mothers hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever." — Unknown

79. "Mother's love is peace. It need not be acquired, it need not be deserved." — Erich Fromm

80. "Motherhood changes everything." — Adriana Trigiani

81. "For when a child is born the mother also is born again." — Gilbert Parker

82. "We are born of love; love is our mother." — Rumi

83. "You don't take a class; you're thrown into motherhood and learn from experience." — Jennie Finch

84. "Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children." — William Makepeace Thackeray

85. "When you look into your mother's eyes, you know that is the purest love you can find on this earth." — Mitch Albom

86. "Motherhood has a very humanizing effect. Everything gets reduced to essentials." — Meryl Streep

87. "I am sure that if the mothers of various nations could meet, there would be no more wars." — E.M. Forster

88. "That first pregnancy is a long sea journey to a country where you don't know the language, where land is in sight for such a long time that after a while it's just the horizon – and then one day birds wheel over that dark shape and it's suddenly close, and all you can do is hope like hell that you've had the right shots." — Emily Perkins

89. "Feeling fat lasts nine months, but the joy of becoming a mom lasts forever.” – Nikki Dalton

90. “Be patient with yourself. You and your baby are both learning new things each day.” — Unknown

91. "Motherhood is wonderful, but it’s also hard work. It’s the logistics more than anything. You discover you have reserves of energy you didn’t know you had.” – Deborah Mailman

92. "Being a mother is the highest paid job in the world. Since the payment is in pure love.” – Amina Sambo

93. "God could not be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers." — Rudyard Kipling 

94. "Your most valuable parenting skill is learning to manage yourself first." — Dr. Laura Markham

95. "Finding balance as a mother means accepting your imperfections." — Mary Organizes

96. "It’s not what you do for your children but what you have taught them to do for themselves that will make them successful human beings." — Ann Landers

97. "The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will find forgiveness." — Honore de Balzac

98. "All mothers are working mothers." — Unknown

99. "Live in the moment and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering." — Fanny Crosby

100. "A sleeping baby is the new happy hour.” – Unknown

101. "Mother – that was the bank where we deposited all our hurts and worries." — T. DeWitt Talmage

102. "No language can express the power and beauty and heroism of a mother’s love." — Edwin Chapin

103. "Behind every great child is a mom who’s pretty sure she’s screwing it all up." — Unknown

104. "The days are long but the years are short." — Gretchen Rubin

105. "Parenting is the easiest thing in the world to have an opinion about, but the hardest thing in the world to do." — Matt Walsh

106. “You never know how much your parents loved you until you have a child to love.” — Jennifer Hudson

107. "Youth fades; love droops; the leaves of friendship fall; a mother’s secret hope outlives them all.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes

108. "There will never be a day, like a day your baby was born." — Anonymous 

109. "Children need love, especially when they do not deserve it.” — Harold Hulbert

110. "The sweet smell of a baby must be one of the best smells in the whole world." — Anonymous 

111. "Having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most sweetest and peaceful feelings in the world." — Unknown

112. “Motherhood: The only place you can experience Heaven and Hell at the same time.” — Anonymous

113. "There are many things in life that I have taken for granted, but the opportunity and ability to be a mama will never be one of them." — Unknown

114. "Successful mothers are not the ones that have never struggled. They are the ones that never give up, despite the struggles." – Sharon Jaynes

115. "From the moment I became a mother, my purpose has been to love and protect my children with everything I have." — Anonymous 

116. "Children are not a distraction from more important work. They are the most important work." — C.S. Lewis

117. "A mother’s love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path." — Agatha Christie

118. "The most precious jewels you’ll ever have around your neck are the arms of your children." — Unknown

119."I’m a mother. Life can be tough. But I am tougher." — Unknown

120. "In the end, I am the only one who can give my children a happy mother who loves life." — Janene Wolsey Baadsgaard

121. "Being a mother is not about what you gave up to have a child but what you’ve gained from having one." — Unknown

122. "Motherhood has a very humanizing effect. Everything gets reduced to essentials." — Meryl Streep

123. "Enjoy every moment, Mama, they grow up before you know it." — Unknown

124. "It is within the journey of motherhood that a woman will discover how strong she really is." — Unknown

125. "I see myself as mom first. I’m so lucky to have that role in life. The world can like me, hate me or fall apart around me and at least I wake up with my kids and I’m happy." — Angelina Jolie

126. "For this child, I prayed and the Lord has granted the desires of my heart." – 1 Samuel 1:27

127. "Loving a baby is a circular business, a kind of feedback loop. The more you give the more you get and the more you get the more you feel like giving.” – Penelope Leach

128. "Babies are bits of stardust blown from the hand of God. Lucky the woman who knows the pangs of birth for she has held a star.” – Larry Barretto

129. "Every child born into the world is a new thought of God, an ever-fresh and radiant possibility.”  – Kate Douglas Wiggin

130. "With every newborn baby, a little sun rises.” – Irmgard Erath

131. "Carrying a baby is the most rewarding experience a woman can enjoy.” – Jayne Mansfield

132. "Think of stretch marks as pregnancy service stripes.” – Joyce Armor

133. "Having a baby is like falling in love again, both with your husband and your child.” – Tina Brown

134. "Having kids feel like that first seventh-grade crush that overwhelms every molecule in your body, but it’s permanent.” – Kristen Bell

135. "Part of being a parent is rolling with the punches, so consider an unexpected pregnancy the universe’s way of helping you to learn to do that.” ― Heather Wittenberg

136. "In giving birth to our babies, we may find that we give birth to new possibilities within ourselves.” – Myla and Jon Kabat-Zinn

137. "Life is a flame that is always burning itself out, but it catches fire again every time a child is born.” – George Bernard Shaw

138. "My body has given me the greatest gift of my life.” — Hilary Duff

139. "You just have to be gentle with yourself.” — Reese Witherspoon

140. "Nothing in life will ever make you as happy, as sad, as exhausted, or as incredibly proud as motherhood.” — Unknown

141. "While we try to teach our children all about life, they teach us what life is all about.” — Angela Schwindt

142. "Mother is a verb. It’s something you do. Not just who you are.” — Dorothy Canfield Fisher

143. “Remember when you found out you were pregnant and thought, ‘How am I going to do this?’ You did. Remember when you had a crying newborn and thought, ‘How am I going to get through this?’ You did. Remember when you had a strong-willed, defiant toddler and thought, ‘How am I going to make it through? You did. When days are hard, just remember…You have. You can. You will” — Unknown

144. "As a mama, I’m not perfect. I make mistakes. I forget things. I lose my cool. And somedays I go a little crazy. But, it’s okay because in the end, no one could ever love my child the way I do.” — Unknown

145. "During labor, let your voice be strong and unhindered. Women have been silenced in the birth room for too long.” — Lauralyn Curtis

146. "Birth matters. It brings us into being, on many levels.” – Ananda Lowe

147. "In this way, every birth is a natural birth: each of us is part of nature, not separate from it, and nature is always stunning in its variety. Your birth, then, is part of the natural world, however it unfolds.” — Lauralyn Curtis

148. "Imagine what might happen if women emerged from their labor beds with a renewed sense of the strength and power of their bodies, and of their capacity for ecstasy through giving birth” — Dr. Christiane Northrup

149. "A baby is like the beginning of all things: wonder, hope a dream of possibilities. In a world that is cutting down its trees to build highways, losing its earth to concrete, babies are almost the only remaining link in nature, with the natural world of living things from which we spring.” – Eda J. Leshan

150. “Birth is as safe as life gets.” — Harriette Hartigan

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