Mum guilt is a real thing.
Before I had my first born, it was just something I'd heard of but paid no attention to, but when I had my baby it's something that I struggle with on a daily basis. In fact, if I wasn't careful it would eat me alive.
Here are some of the things that make me feel guilty like no other:
1. Not spending enough time with your baby.
2. Not cleaning the house to spend all day with your baby.
3. Working to help support your family.
4. Being a stay at home mom to raise your children.
5. Feeling like you could have done more in a day with them.
6. Getting out all day to the playground and they fall.
7. When you go do the groceries on your own and see other parents out with their babies and yours is at home.
8. Taking your child to do the groceries and they have one of the biggest meltdowns ever and you wish you left them at home with your partner.
9. Co-sleeping.
10. Moving them to their own room.
The list is endless!
To be honest, anything can turn into a reason to feel guilty. There is always something that will come up during the day that I felt like I could have done better. I guess that is part of life.
So when I realised that there is no way of getting away from it, I stopped letting it get to me, instead, I decided to embrace this so-called mum guilt.
I started to look at it in a more positive light, I have mom guilt because I love my child so much and want what is best for them. If I didn't care for my child then I would have nothing to feel guilty about. This realisation alone really helped me to breathe a huge sigh of relief.
So my words of wisdom are, don’t let mom guilt fester and try to embrace it instead. When those thoughts come in, let them go and think of something that you did today. Whether it wasn’t losing your marbles at your 2-year-old who spilt the sugar all over the floor, or you actually managed to get out of the house today without forgetting something.
Let’s celebrate the small victories of parenthood together and ditch those negative feelings.
What are your ways of dealing with mom guilt? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
