Have you heard about the recent takeover initiated by parents that has sparked a digital revolution of heartfelt revelations? It’s incredible! Mothers and fathers from diverse backgrounds and experiences converged online to share the profound transformations that parenthood brought to them. The virtual space became a platform for these narratives, allowing the unfiltered voices of parents to resonate and echo the untold stories of sacrifice, joy, and resilience. It’s a powerful movement that is shedding light on the true experiences of parenthood.
- “Becoming a parent means transitioning from the child in someone else’s family to the adult in your own. Many people who benefitted from being the authority in that previous family didn’t do so well with me having priorities that didn’t revolve around their needs. It’s hard going from Mom/Dad/Aunt/Uncle to a secondary character in someone’s new family (Grandparent, Great-Aunt/Uncle).” ladyclubs / Reddit
- “How much I would love babies, and not just mine. I genuinely cry at the thought of babies not being loved.” CakesNGames90 / Reddit
- “I feel like I joined this very secret organization of mothers. Like Illuminati, but for moms. A simple ‘How are you?’ from another mother is filled with so much more than just politeness. That ‘How are you?’ is more like, ‘Has your birthing trauma already eased up on you? Have you slept at all last week? Have you managed to eat? Is your husband any help? Is the baby colicky? Have you healed already? Do you have childcare solutions?’
And also, ‘I know. I know. I know, and I am so sorry. But also, congratulations’. We all share the secret of motherhood, the good and the bad.” akrolina / Reddit
- “What changed for me was empathy towards other parents, especially with crying, fussing children in public places. I used to be annoyed and think, man, they need to get their kid under control. Now I’m like, totally opposite spectrum where I empathize with them and wish I could help them.” _emmvee / Reddit
- “One thing that doesn’t really get talked about a lot is that now weekends and holidays aren’t relaxing. There is no ‘sleeping in’ or getting around to it this weekend ‘when I have the time.’ There is no extra time.
When the baby is at daycare, I’m at work. On the weekend, we have to try to figure out how to take care of stuff around the house while working around a baby’s schedule. Knowing that at any minute, things could derail. Only one of us can do something at a time, so only half of the house chores get done.” xdonutx / Reddit - “My relationship with my in-laws changed basically overnight. I still cannot explain the switch that flipped. Logically, I knew it was on me and that it was something I needed to work through. We had such a great relationship for YEARS before and during my pregnancy.
They came and rented a house for a month when my son was born to help us. And they did help so, so much. I just could not take advice from them and basically anything my MIL suggested for probably over a year drove me nuts. We’re good now that my son is 2.5, but it was really uncomfortable for me for a while and hard for my husband to be in the middle.” _et_tu_brute_ / Reddit
- “I see my mom in a different light. We were not that close prior to me having a baby, and I even went in low contact for a while. And, man, once I had my daughter and realized how much that would have hurt… she had a high-stress job and was often short and impatient with us as kids, but now,