I remember being pregnant with my first baby and seeing all the images of motherhood that float around online. Soft lighting. Calm babies. Mums who somehow looked rested and glowing while gently rocking a sleeping newborn.
And then I had a baby.
What I experienced instead was something much more real. Much more intense. And, if I’m honest, much more powerful.
Motherhood isn’t soft focus. It’s strong. It’s messy. It’s emotional. It’s raw. And it asks more of you than you ever realised you had to give.
And that’s exactly why it deserves to be talked about differently, especially around International Women’s Day.
Because the strength women show in motherhood isn’t delicate. It’s extraordinary.
The Strength That Happens Quietly
After having three babies, I’ve realised something about mothers.
The strongest moments often happen when nobody is watching.
It’s the 2am feed when your body is still recovering and your eyes can barely stay open.
It’s the moment you figure out feeding when things didn’t go how you expected.
It’s the quiet decision to get up again, even after a night where sleep barely happened.
No one gives you a medal for those moments.
But they are strength. Real strength.
The kind women show every day without needing applause.
The Version of Motherhood No One Really Shows
Motherhood in the early days can be beautiful. But it’s also chaotic.
There are days when you feel completely in love with your baby.
And days when you feel overwhelmed and unsure if you’re doing it right.
Your body is healing.
Your hormones are everywhere.
Feeding might feel natural… or it might take time, support and patience to find your rhythm.
And none of that means you’re failing.
It means you’re doing something incredibly demanding while learning in real time.
That’s not weakness. That’s resilience.
Women Have Always Been This Strong
One of the things motherhood has made me reflect on most is the quiet strength of women, across generations, across cultures, across history.
Women have always held families together through exhaustion, uncertainty and change.
They’ve adapted.
They’ve nurtured.
They’ve kept going.
And often without recognition.
International Women’s Day celebrates progress, leadership and achievement and rightly so. But I also think it’s worth recognising the strength that happens inside homes, in hospital rooms, in the middle of long nights with newborn babies.
The strength of mothers is part of the story of women’s strength everywhere.
You’re Stronger Than You Think
One of the things I wish more new mums knew is this:
You don’t need to feel confident to be strong.
Sometimes strength looks like certainty.
But more often it looks like showing up while you’re still figuring things out.
It’s learning how to feed your baby in whatever way works for your family.
It’s asking for help.
It’s adjusting your expectations and giving yourself permission to do things differently than you imagined.
Strength isn’t about doing motherhood perfectly.
It’s about continuing through the messy parts.
A Small Reminder This International Women’s Day
If you’re in the thick of early motherhood right now, here’s what I want you to remember.
What you’re doing is hard.
It’s meaningful.
And it requires more strength than most people realise.
So today, alongside celebrating women’s achievements, leadership and impact across the world, I also want to celebrate mothers.
The ones navigating feeding and recovery.
The ones learning their babies one day at a time.
The ones doing extraordinary things in ordinary moments.
Motherhood might not look glamorous most days.
But it is one of the strongest, most powerful roles women step into.
And mumma, you’re doing it.
<3 Tamara
