I am a first time mother of a wonderful little boy. I am married to an incredibly loving and supportive man, who wanted to help with as much as he possibly could but like many mothers, most of the caregiving fell on my shoulders.
When I first had my son I had no idea how difficult being a mother would be. I truly felt like no one told me, “hey this motherhood thing could be really hard for you and may actually suck at some points”. I believed I was all alone in my experiences as I began to speak to more and more mothers who would affirm (in so many words) that I was an anomaly and that most babies are so much easier than mine. “Oh, NO!” they would tell me, “My baby has been sleeping through the night since they came home from the hospital”, “My child naps for hours at a time”, “My baby really never cried”. I would begin conversations with parents hopeful to find some common ground between my struggles and theirs, and would leave feeling defeated, feeling like I must obviously be doing something wrong, but had no idea what it was. I truly thought I was the only mother who was struggling. As more time has passed since my son was born, I have begun to realize that three things were happening: a. those mothers were lying like their lives depended on it b. I was not talking to the right people and c. I was super sensitive in my longing to be a perfect mother.
I want other moms and dads to know that being a parent is NOT easy. Literally everything changes, and for some of us it is a very difficult transition. I am tired of thinking that I am the only parent out there struggling with parenthood. I am tired of believing that since I am having such a hard time with motherhood, I simply must be doing things wrong. I am writing this blog because I now know that I am not alone and If my “un-perfect” experiences can help even one new parent feel supported, than I will have found success.
I promise to be honest, and real, and I hope to entertain, but more importantly I wish to display what true parenting looks and feels like.
theunperfectmom.com 