Though we love mommy blogs as much as the next person, we know that their perfectly filtered photos aren't always a reality for most families. In a brutally honest post, mother and blogger Shannon Peterson reminded her followers that motherhood doesn't always look like what social media makes it out to be — and that's okay.
Peterson wrote a blog post as well as an Instagram post that nailed the truth behind those edited photos on your feed.
"Just in case you thought my real life was anything like these tiny squares, I give you: this is 4 months," she wrote alongside a photo of herself and her son.
While her son, whom she refers to only as J, has been an "easy baby" to take care of until now, his needs have increased as he's grown up.
"The other day I spent THREE HOURS like this, people," she wrote. "J had to be swaddled, on his back, in my arms. While I was bouncing on my giant exercise ball (never once used for its intended purpose). With my boob perfectly resting in just the right spot on his chin."
Not only that, she said, the house was a mess, she didn't get to have her breakfast that morning, and she was "desperately in need of a shower," all of which understandably left her on the brink of tears when this photo was taken.
"The truth is, this is who I am most days," she wrote. "Not a put together human who has her act together. Not a mom who can juggle working from home, kids, etc. I'm just a crazy person trying to maintain some semblance of calm while attempting to figure it all out."
Peterson told Huffington Post that as a mother who has experienced postpartum depression and anxiety, she was motivated to post a more honest view of motherhood.
"Scrolling through my feed is hard ― seeing all these beautiful moms with their hair and makeup done every day, perfectly put together left me wondering why I couldn’t be that," she said.
Her post is an important reminder that as wonderful as being a parent is, it's never perfect, and there's nothing wrong with that.
"I think it’s really easy to forget about the need to share the hard things, because we all want people to know how awesome being a mom and parent can be," she told Huffington Post. "But I also think it’s really important to address the not-so-great stuff so that people know it’s normal.”