Being a mom is no walk in the park. It's more like a painful walk over itty bitty Lego pieces that lasts for 14 hours a day.
Even as more parents are evenly dividing household duties, that still leaves plenty of cooking, cleaning, and chasing after excited kids for most moms. So it's no wonder many of them feel sleep deprived.
For those of us who can't relate, Melanie Darnell - mother to three rambunctious kids - shared a nighttime Nest video that captures what sleep is really like for a busy mom.
As Darnell wrote about the security footage on Instagram, "Parenting doesn't end when the sun goes down."
"I want to parent at night the same way I parent during the day. You have two nighttime parenting goals (1) get sufficient rest yourself and (2) meet the nutritional and emotional needs of your child," she said.
For Darnell, who usually has to start her day at 4 a.m., goal number one is basically impossible to meet. Especially with the nighttime antics her kids get up to in this video.
At several points, it looks like Darnell's youngest son is practicing his kung fu punches on her while she grabs a few minutes of shut eye. (Yes, experts warn not to share your bed with a child younger than one year old, but we can't blame Darnell if this works best for her.)
Once the pair finally get to sleep, Darnell's toddler comes in for a visit and wakes them up again. By 6:00 a.m., the infant is fully awake again and refuses to let Darnell sleep a minute longer.
But while her video is a humorous look at Darnell's daily life, she shared it with a serious message to other moms who might find themselves nodding off during the day.
"During these moments let's think of all of the other parents that are up with their babies at the very same middle-of-the-night moment and take comfort in the thought of each of us cradling our babies in the dark of our homes, together in shared experience," she wrote.
"Rather than feeling isolated and exhausted, we can feel connected to the other tired mothers that are also awake."
You can follow Darnell on YouTube or Instagram.
[H/T: PopSugar]
