Can you remember a time when your baby broke you? A time when you cried ugly, snot tears because your baby wouldn’t stay asleep and you’d been up most of the night doing everything to get them settled? And morning finally arrives and you have to get yourself ready for work?
I remember my breaking points and they weren’t pretty.
Tess Holliday shared her breaking point on Instagram and her heartfelt post went viral.
The plus-sized model and mum to two, Rylee, a soon-to-be teenager, and Bowie, who is eight months old, shared a candid picture of her crying after dealing with a teething baby.
This is the reality of being a mom. I’ve been up since 3 am, & every time I get Bowie to sleep & try to lay him down, he wakes up. He is teething & has no clue I have to work today, & most days I can work 15 hour days, take care of both boys & put some lipstick on & deal with it. Most days I drink my coffee & smile at every little thing he does thinking it’s the best thing in the world, but not today. I’ve been crying for nearly two hours, & I’m crying as I write this. I’ve reached my limit, exceeded it to be honest. My confidence has taken a blow with this birth & it wasn’t until this morning I realized why. The pressure of “looking good” for a living is too much today. When your face is breaking out from the hormones of breastfeeding + total exhaustion from lack of sleep, bags under your eyes, patchy red skin & to top it off no energy to work out or leave my bed.. how do you do it? How do you feel confident in your skin & feel like you aren’t letting the client down by showing up exhausted & disheveled? Yes, I chose a career based on my looks & I’m the first one to say that beauty isn’t what should drive you, it’s certainly not what motivates me. As a working mom in an industry that’s as critical as mine, where is the line? The balance? The compassion? Is any career understanding when you show up at negative 10% because your kids wouldn’t let you sleep & you want to hide under your covers & cry? Not many. I hope one day that changes & society views mothers as the flawed human beings we are that are just trying to keep our shit together like everyone else. #effyourbeautystandards #workingmoms #disruptperfectmomsyndrome by @tessholliday
Her heartfelt message on Instagram struck a chord with parents and went viral after she admitted she found it hard juggling a baby and going back to work.
Holliday explained to Today, “When I wrote the post, I had just finished crying for an hour and Bowie was crawling all over the bed.
“I knew it was temporary, but I had reached my breaking point.”
While this isn’t the first time Holliday has been a mum, her work circumstances are much different to what they were when Rylee was a baby. The children are also different in temperament.
Holliday recalls Rylee being a lazy baby. “You could put him down anywhere and he’d hang out. Bowie is constantly into things. He’s a lot more work.”
The viral post received a lot of support from her fans and other parents who have been there and felt the same way.
The strong response was what helped the mum to bounce back.
“I realize now it’s OK to ask for help,” she says. “It’s OK to cry and be frustrated, that’s normal and that’s part of it. It’s just nice to realize I’m not alone.”
As you all know, yesterday was tough. I appreciate all your love & support. So, today we’re celebrating girl power with an amazing giveaway! My girl @studiomucci and I are giving you two chances to win a ton of cute stuff! Including makeup ? from @benefitcosmetic , apparel ?and accessories from @daisynatives and tassel garlands ? from @studiomucci Here’s how to enter! ? 1. Follow all 4 accounts: @Tessholliday, @studiomucci @benefitcosmetics and @daisynatives 2.like this post 3.Spread the positive vibes by tagging a friend and saying something supportive! ? Two lucky winners will each receive all of the items listed. The giveaway ends Friday. The winners will be notified! Good luck! ?#effyourbeautystandards #girlssupportgirls by @tessholliday
