Celebrity mothers often make parenthood look so easy. With their glamorous baby showers, carefully-posed snaps, and ability to get back in shape at the drop of a hat, it may sometimes seem like raising kids really isn't all that. Of course, that's not quite the full story.
Colleen Ballinger, perhaps better known by her YouTube alter ego, Miranda Sings, recently posted some very honest pictures on Twitter in order to demonstrate what motherhood is really like.
"I see a lot of moms online who portray a perfect, easy lifestyle. but this is a more realistic version of what motherhood looks like," she wrote. "i wish more people would show their reality instead of the most perfect version of themselves online. cuz the messy stuff is beautiful too. [sic]"
Accompanying the statement was this snap, which - even at first glance - definitely isn't Ballinger's usual polished look:
With her hair in a messy bun and her top covered in, uh, something, the YouTube star looks very different to how she normally does in front of the camera. And yet, she still appears cheery and positive.
In a second version of the pic, the new mother labelled all the things that we might not normally see from celebrity mothers (or, indeed, mothers in general).
It turns out that the "something" on Ballinger's top is, in fact, a combination of puke, milk, and pee (nice), and that's not even the grossest thing in the frame, thanks to the mouldy dishes chilling out on the counter. With all these things pointed out, it immediately becomes apparent that motherhood is not always the exciting, cheery adventure it is made out to be in the media. Sometimes it's hard. And messy. Basically a lot of work.
But Ballinger's fans loved her for sharing such an intimate part of her life with them.
"Thanks for posting this. I’m six weeks in, and it’s been incredibly hard emotionally and physically," said one follower. "Nothing like what I see on mom blogs, which sometimes made me feel like I was doing this wrong. It’s awesome to see a mom celebrating the more imperfect parts of motherhood."
"With me being pregnant, I’m so glad you’ve been honest about how hard pregnancy can really be because we don’t hear how hard it can be!" said another. "So preach to you for being honest so I wasn’t driving myself insane."
Meanwhile, one person had a slightly different - but also important - response: "this made me set a reminder to buy condoms. can’t even imagine how hard this is u iconic mom. [sic]"
Ballinger also posted this video recently, in which she talks about motherhood and how difficult it is for her at the moment:
Even as she's getting to grips with motherhood, though, there are some things that the YouTuber can't adjust to. "I literally can’t believe my body makes milk and it comes out of my boobs and feeds the baby that my body made," she tweeted. "like wtf. that’s wild. [sic]"
Congratulations to Miranda Sings on her new arrival, then, and also thanks for keeping it real!