Motherhood is hard. There I said it; and I’ll say it again, motherhood is hard. There is no doubt about it. The road to motherhood is a tough one. Birthing a baby is NO joke, and then taking care of a baby (or babies), yourself, your house, your pets, and still managing to hold on to a relationship with your significant other, it is all hard. 
Don’t get me wrong there are so many beautiful and wonderful parts of motherhood, your child’s smile, all of your baby’s firsts, playing, trips to the park, watching your toddler explore and grow, it is all absolutely amazing. But, it is also hard. It can be difficult to get through any given day. The baby may be teething, your toddler may be melting down over everything, your significant other is working late, the house is a mess, the dog is barking, you haven’t showered in days, it can all be overwhelming. 
There’s also this sneaky little thing called postpartum depression that can strike you down without warning too. Seriously, hormones and emotions are no joke, and did you know that postpartum doesn’t always happen instantly? It can be at any point in the first two years. Having back to back pregnancies also means you’re in this crazy cycle of hormones even longer. For me, I was finally back to myself and feeling balanced in life when my daughter was about 17 months old… then I got pregnant with my son – cue the pregnancies hormones, a sleep regression for my daughter, and then a whirlwind of a pregnancy and the first year of my son’s life. It was a hard season.
Postpartum issues for me always strike the hardest between 6 and 9 months and then I have to take a few months to dig out and re-balance myself. It has happened this way with both of my children, although this time around was a lot tougher -probably because I ignored self care and was focused on not one, but two little ones who needed me. All.The.Time.
Whether you have one child, ten children, or somewhere in between you are going to experiences ups and downs and that’s okay. It is okay to ask for help. This is a concept that was totally foreign to me, as I was always super independent and wanted to accomplish it all on my own. Trying to do that with two children, zero time for me, and a rough patch of life – it equated to a tired, burnt out mama who was not her best. I started to speak up. I admitted that things were hard. I started to take breaks, ask for help, and while I’m not totally back to me yet – I am so much closer than I was a few months ago.
Motherhood is hard. It is okay to admit it. Motherhood is hard. It is okay to ask for help. Motherhood is hard. It is okay not to love every single minute. Motherhood is hard, BUT it is absolutely worth it. Every hard and challenging moment is worth it.
And, when it all feels overwhelming and you feel like you can’t go another minute, pause and think about what you need. Then find a way to get it. Get what you need mama, and then let everything else fall back into place.
