As rewarding and beautiful as motherhood is, any mom can tell you that it isn't easy. Tony award winning actress and new mom Laura Benanti got real about what it's really like to be a new mom, in all its struggle, doubt, and love. In a post to her Instagram page on Monday, Benanti admitted that motherhood has had its challenges for her.
"Being a new mom can be hard," she wrote. "Or at least it can be for me. Maybe there are new moms out there who sail blissfully through the days, cherishing each little moment, utterly confident in their new mom-ness. But for me, sometimes it's really hard."
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It's been difficult, she said, to quiet the doubt she often feels, and to listen to her intuition when it comes to being a mom.
"Hard because I doubt myself," she wrote. "Hard because I'm tired. Hard because when I'm tired it's challenging to honor my own intuition. Hard because the outside voices of (mostly) well meaning advisors can overwhelm and confuse me. Hard because I'm lonely. Hard because my hormones are bananas. Just. Hard."
Benanti, who you may recognize as The Late Show's Melania Trump, nailed the struggles that new moms often face: exhaustion, being at the mercy of hormones, and an overwhelming onslaught of well-intentioned advice.
But while feeding her daughter, she had what she calls a "moment of clarity" that made the hard work feel a little more worthwhile.
"This time, while seemingly interminable in moments, is actually flying by, she wrote. "She will never be this small again. I can either spend these days judging myself, and wishing for things to 'get easier' or I can try to take it moment by moment."
Benanti wrote that this realization helped her to momentarily quell the doubt that she felt as a mom.
"I hope to always remember tonight," she wrote. "How she looked up at me while I was feeding her and smiled. How she fell asleep on my shoulder. How my doubt and worry was momentarily quieted by my deep love for her, and how — at least for a moment — I let that love extend to myself."
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Benanti also told Refinery29 that she decided to be candid about her struggle to show that life — and motherhood — isn't always as perfect as it seems.
"Social media tends to be a place where people showcase their best, most curated selves," she said. "I want other mothers to know they're not alone and perhaps encourage people who know a new mother to be kind."
Welcome to Mothership: Parenting stories you actually want to read, whether you're thinking about or passing on kids, from egg-freezing to taking home baby and beyond. Because motherhood is a big if — not when — and it's time we talked about it that way.