An Instagram Mother's Truth bomb
Babies spew on you. OK. When I had my first child, I was prepared for that.
What I wasn't prepared for was the feelings of inadequacy, insecurity, the anxiety and self-doubt that would follow me around for the entire first year (and beyond!).
This post aims to de-bunk what I affectionately (?) term as the ‘Insta-MUM’ myth.
Comparison is the thief of joy.
I told myself that I was just getting ‘tips’ and ‘inspiration’ from following every Instagram Mummy-blogger I could (from the second I found out I was pregnant).
This baby was going to be uber-trendy - and I was going to glide through motherhood like the savvy fashionista I'd always seen myself as. I looooved scrolling through my news feed, and I really didn’t think it was doing any harm. Hey, it was my ‘down time’. And they all looked so… GLAMOUROUS. The yotally had it all together.
I felt like it gave me something to strive for.
Little did I know, I was setting myself up for failure in the biggest of ways. I was striving for an IMPOSSIBLE ideal. I mean, even the ‘Insta-MUM’s don’t have it together like they make you think they do!
Reality BITES.
There are days when you can barely get your teeth brushed in the morning, let alone find the time to flat-iron your hair, do your make-up and throw on Valentino's latest rock studs and your Gucci cross-body.
My constant checking of Instagram and seeing these 'glamourous' Mums 'effortlessly cruising' through their days left me only feeling like a complete failure. How did they manage? *SPOILER ALERT* - they don’t!! Even the most ‘perfect’ looking ‘Insta-MUM’s have their low points. We just barely see them – because they don’t make great Instagram posts.
And you know what – that’s OK. You are NOT a failure. I am not a failure. NOBODY has their life together to the point of 24/7 Insta-glamour.
Most of the bloggers that we aspire to be like do that as a full time job, they have a personal trainer, they have a PA, a Nanny... and you know what? Even then, they still aren't perfect either! They just don’t publicise those moments.
90% of what we see on Instagram is edited, filtered, painstakingly planned and executed. The more we compare ourselves to the ‘Insta-MUM’s, the further away we find ourselves from reality.
So. If you feel like maybe you need to take a ‘social media holiday', just DO IT! If you need some help managing, reach out! The help is there.
Spend some time in the park with your new little one, talk to friends over coffee, but whatever you do, don’t forget – you are doing the best you can, and that's what 's important.