In the darkest hours of the night, it feels like you’re the only one.
When the world is so quiet you can hear the stars sigh, the loneliness threatens to steal your breath.
But you’re not alone. You’re part of a secret club.
When it’s eerie and still, and you’re sitting up with your babe, feeling the weight of isolation on your chest: just stop. Be still. Listen.
Listen harder… can you hear us? The rest of us, sitting up in silence, listening out for you?
Welcome to the club, sister.
You can’t see us, but we’re here, working the night shift with you.
Some of us are falling asleep while feeding in bed, some of us are scrolling our phones, trying to stop our eyes from closing, some of us are hunched over cots, patting bottoms and shush-shush-shushing in increasing levels of aggression, trying to remind ourselves we don’t hate the baby.
Some of us are losing our mother-loving minds with rage.
Some of us are too exhausted to be angry.
But we’re all here; right alongside you, looking at the same stars, wishing someone else knew how we felt.
This is the thankless night shift and, like you, we’ll back up again in the morning for the day shift.
Because we are mums.
And mums DO.
Welcome to the club.
#welcometotheclub #thenightshift #themumclub #iseeyou #iamyou