This is the real, raw truth of parenting. No filter, no sugar coating, just the reality of parenthood that a lot of us go through and experience yet no one talks about openly and honestly! So here goes...
Today I shouted in pure anger and frustration at my beautiful baby. He was fussing and crying and just wouldn’t settle. He had a clean bottom, had just been fed and winded, I was talking to him, holding him, cuddling him but nothing was working. He was just relentlessly screaming! I could feel my anxiety and stress levels getting higher and higher to the point I just put him down on the sofa and shouted ‘What is the matter with you?!’
Of course, he cried more then, I had scared him! I felt absolutely heartbroken that I had got to that point! I stepped away and within less then a minute he was gurgling to himself and smiling! He’d completely forgotten, I on the other hand felt and still do feel absolutely awful! He then fell asleep in my arms and I just sat there sobbing!
Being a parent is the hardest journey you will ever go on, the most rewarding too, but yes it’s bloody hard!! Please don’t believe everything you see on social media, I bet a lot of you reading this from looking at our posts and stories on said social media would never imagine this image behind closed doors! But this is real life and I only wish more parents felt they could express and talk about these harder times as well as the wonderful joyful times!
Being stuck in the house all day every day is relentless and suffocating especially when you have a clingy unsettled baby on your hands but remember you’ve got this! We all do! And remember we’re only human! .We aren't weak, we aren't strong, we're just human beings fighting through life. And this is real. The amount of people who have told me of their own parenthood strains is immense - yet we always see things as happily ever after for others. It's hard to be open and honest that things aren't always rosey all of the time.
No... I'm not telling you this for attention, that sort of thing doesn't get my heart pumping, being able to share my experiences of imperfection within a world of expected perfection - and helping others in the same situation - does. So the point of this is to ask you to be kind to yourself - and to check in on your friends, even if they say they're ok, because I know I certainly wasn't. If you need help, reach out - please. I know it's hard. Within this world and all it's craziness - cling on to the things you love and never let go!
To those suffering, this year hasn't been easy - but brighter days are coming - the darkest part of the night is always right before the sun rises. We can get through this!
