No, you aren’t. Do you know why? Because the perfect mom doesn’t exist.
We all have that visual in our mind of what a perfect mom looks like. The tiny, cute little girl with a constant smile on her face. Her pregnancy weight seemed to just disappear seconds after her baby was born. Not organic? No way, my kid won’t eat that. Her kids only eat farm-fresh, organic, and homemade dinners every night.
Even though being a mom is a 24/7 job where you can hardly pee without your little one needing you, this type of mom somehow always finds the time to do her hair and makeup like a model fresh for the runway, and the cutest, most perfectly coordinated little outfit.
As you sit there in the same shirt that you’ve been wearing for two days, covered in milk, puke, and who even knows what that orange stain is, you envy her and dream about having it all put together.
Well, guess what? Although that kind of mom seems to be the poster-mom for parenting, I can promise she has her own struggles that you have no idea about. She hides her pain and struggle behind a smile that seems impossibly white, and her bags from sleepless nights behind her Estee Lauder concealer (does Estee Lauder even make concealer? I don’t know, you get my point).
The problem is, you are only seeing the positives of her parenting journey, which makes you feel like you are a mess of a mom and must be doing something wrong. You aren’t seeing the sleepless nights, the screaming into pillows, or the tears from anger and uncertainty.
The worst part about social media as a mom (or as any person) is that everyone is in a competition with each other to see who can seem the most successful.
Moms are superheroes that instead of a cape wear a pair of leggings for who knows what day in a row and stretchmarks for battle scars.
Disclaimer, I’m not a mother myself. So, I can’t firsthand tell you what the struggle is like. However, I and I think anybody who has been close to a mom, (probably all of us because we were all born somewhere) can attest to the fact that these women are beasts.
If you are willing to squeeze a baby out of your body and then continue to put yourself second to all of their needs, I don’t care what anyone says, you are admirable. So, while you sit and envy that Pinterest mom, take a look at your own parenting journey.
Do you love your child? Do you support them with each milestone? Do you encourage them to grow every day? Yeah? Then please, give yourself a pat on the back.
There is no such thing as a perfect mom, because each child has their own needs and personality. One universal mold of a mom that is perfect for each child just sounds silly, doesn’t it? Of course, because each mom, each child, and each family are different.
Can you be a perfect mom? Absolutely not. Can you be a really amazing mom? Definitely.
So, if you’re a mom who feels insignificant and like those moms seem to have a better grip on it all, please stop discrediting yourself. You are amazing and nobody can do the job you are doing, just the way you are doing it.