A Stay-At-Home Mom’s Emotional Post Reminds Us That We Still Need a Village

The world is always changing. A lot a lot. Human beings used to live in villages, and when women had children, everyone helped – with the birth, caring for mom and baby and other kids postpartum, and yeah, if one mom needed a day to breathe, there were women who would take her brood for the day, no questions asked.

One day, she would do it for them.

Now? We’re isolated. I didn’t realize how much that was true until I became a mom that stays home with her children, either, but the truth is, parenting young children can be extremely lonely.

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This is what being a new mom looks like without filters, without Facetune, without presets… . I wake up every hour and half to nurse my newborn… . My older children are desperate for my attention…. . I’m having a hell of a hot flash while I type this. . I’m in the thick of a battle with postpartum depression… . I’m praying my 2 year old naps for just 20 minutes longer so I can finish an episode of @goodgirlsfeed . I desperately want a glass of wine, but it’s 2:59pm snd I still have a million hours before the kids go to bed. . I’m exhausted. . But I would live this reality on repeat because I live for the sounds of my babies voices filling our home with their laughter, their cries, their arguments, their babble… . Sometimes I don’t know how I put one foot in front of the other because honesty, I’m having a hard time adjusting to life with 3 kids, but I’m so thankful that God has chosen me to walk this path as the mama of these blessed girls ❤ . If any of this resonated with you, I see you mama. I feel you. I will pray for you. And I BELIEVE IN YOU. Motherhood, real motherhood, isn’t filtered. It’s raw and messy and hard and so beautiful. Let yourself feel it all ❤

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If you’re lucky (I am), you have parents and other family nearby and a partner that’s supportive. Friends who are in the same stage of life as you and who live near enough to help out.

Even so, it’s hard. No one warns you about how hard it will be, and worse, everyone assumes that “staying home with your kids” is the best possible life, leaving the women who do it and struggle feeling like they’re not allowed to speak up when they’re miserable.

Which is kind of exactly what mom Bridgette Anne was feeling when she posted a raw, heartbreaking post about how not-okay she is after taking on the role for the first time.

☝ everyone thinks being a stay at home mom full time is easy.— that we are lucky to be able to not have to work.—…

Posted by Bridgette Anne on Thursday, January 30, 2020

You can’t do anything by yourself; go to the bathroom, enjoy a cup of coffee, read, hell you can’t even scrub the shit out of pants for the 3rd time in a day without someone crying or screaming at your leg.

You don’t get breaks unless they are sleeping; which even then you use that time to clean up

You struggle to come up with ways to entertain someone for literally 12 hours a day every day.

You wear the same clothes that smell like sweat and tears for days at a time because it’s already stained and no use in ruining more clothes.

You forget what it means or feels like to be an individual; because your entire existence now revolves around that child.

You look at working moms and get jealous because you wish you could have an excuse to have an adult conversation without being interrupted.

You lock yourself in the bathroom and scream into a towel while crying because you need a second to breathe; all while a child is banging on the door to get in…

I was one of those people who judged SAHM’s. But I get it now. The people who said they’d be there to help have all but disappeared, and you’re left with this overwhelming sense of failure.

My house isn’t clean, I’m not clean, the dishes aren’t done, I have screamed already today, I have cried, and I have felt so damn guilty that my child was here to witness it.

But I am alone….and I am lonely

People were quick to rally around Bridgette online, offering words of support and encouragement, but I wish there were more and easier ways for SAHMs to connect in real life. To be there for each other, to take each other’s kids for an afternoon, to meet at the part so you can have some coffee and conversation that doesn’t include constant requests for water and peeled fruit.

Being a SAHM is wonderful, but it’s also very, very hard. And until we can come to terms with the fact that both of those things can be true at the same time, moms everywhere are still going to struggle.

That’s not good for anyone, y’all, so please. Be kind, reach out, listen, be supportive. We can still be a village, but we have to try a lot harder to make it work.

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Staying at Home With Children Is More Stressful Than Going to Work

Parents who stay at home are often pretty misunderstood. While many people assume they sit around relaxing at home all day, the reality is it’s a 24-hour job that is exhausting. Between caregiving and household management, the work seemingly never ends. One new survey found that, for many people, staying at home is more stressful for parents than going to work.

The Aveeno Baby survey, conducted in the U.K., asked 1500 mothers and fathers about their experiences as working or stay-at-home parents.

The survey found that a significant percentage of parents (31%) feel that staying at home with the kids is more stressful than going to work, rather than the other way around.

Photo Credit: iStock

“Becoming a parent is an amazing experience, but we understand that entering this new chapter of life can also bring with it a great deal of stress and worry, so we wanted to discover more about what new parents experience in the first few years, what they wish they had known and how best we can support them,” Aveeno Baby skin expert Rebecca Bennett told The Sun.

“From what you put in your baby’s mouth to what you put on their skin, every small decision becomes much bigger and you worry you might not be making the right choice, or are being judged by others.”

Regardless of whether you work or stay at home, having a baby is HARD, the survey found. 39% of parents reported constant exhaustion while 55% believed that having a baby is hard work even with a strong support system.

In the age of social media, many parents also reported that parenting apps make it harder for them to feel like good parents due to the constant comparisons to others.

Photo Credit: iStock

The lesson? Never assume another parent has it easier than you!

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