Sharing a few unedited moments from 6 years ago because…
I recently read that 47% of UK mums don’t talk openly about their parenting struggles for fear of being judged. I confess I’ve often been one of the 47%, despite calling myself a mum blogger who’s usually looking to cover all sorts of parenting topics – genuinely hoping to help others including myself. With my first I didn’t share much of my daily struggles, I didn’t ask for help when needed, I didn’t even accept help when it was offered. As a first time new mum, I thought less contact with people would be beneficial so I’d look like I was I control, simply because I didn’t want to be judged…
Nonetheless raising a family far away from my own has been one of the toughest challenges during my 6 years journey as a parent, and one of the very first challenges was the rough start I had when it came to breastfeeding. After struggling for days to get through the pain of cracked nipples, sore breasts and the cruel lack of sleep newborns generously bring with them, I thought I should just try and fight the baby blues on my own. Six years later I’m still making this mistake when it comes to other aspects of parenting, but at least this time round I recognise that accepting all occasional help I get from my friends and family is not a sign of weakness, but one of strength.
In a nutshell, if you’re a mum to be or a new mum and you feel you’re struggling, don’t try to hide it away and make your own journey look effortless for the fear of not being judged. Ask for help…you need it and you deserve it And if you’re an experienced parent, share your own personal stories with those new mums around you, but not only the good stuff, share all those raw feelings you had, talk about your white nights of baby teething and tell them it’s going to be ok.
Sometimes that’s all we all need to hear…
