Home / Life / Motherly Stories Dear Mama: Your babies need a happy mom, not a perfect one Instagram/@alexxmiles Mama, this is just a friendly reminder to drop the need to strive for perfection and simply just do the absolute best that you can. By Alex Miles April 11, 2022 Instagram/@alexxmiles Rectangle Mama, this is just a friendly reminder to drop the need to strive for perfection and simply just do the absolute best that you can. Because you won’t get it right everyday. Some days, you’ll want a do-over. But that doesn’t make you any less of the best mama for your little ones. This mom’s message is for all of us mamas who sometimes forget that we are the perfect mother for our children. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Alex Miles (@alexxmiles) “If there’s one thing I’ve learned through motherhood, it’s that babies need a happy mama, not a perfect one. So here’s to always making sure that at the end of the day, they go to sleep surrounded by happiness, not perfection. Just a mama that can be there for her baby both physically AND emotionally💜 Related: Mama, your best is more than enough I wrote that caption paired with the picture of me and Tatum (second pic) while I was coming out of a darker place of my postpartum depression. As I sat here and tried to come up with a caption for this same picture of me and Henry, I looked back at that caption only to realize that exactly what I wrote then was exactly what I needed tonight. Not for an Instagram caption but for my heart. I focus too much on how I can BE better when in reality, all my kids know is that I AM the BEST mom for them. The past two weeks have tested my patience in more ways than one, leaving me ending my day feeling like I am failing as a mom. As a working mom, I struggle with the fact that I don’t get much time with my babies during the week, and by the time I DO get them, it’s the end of the day and we are all at our wits end and ready for bed. Related: How to be a good mom I needed that caption because I think often times I laser focus on the things I could be doing better as a mom when I need to focus on the love and care that my babies crave. I focus too much on how I can BE better when in reality, all my kids know is that I AM the BEST mom for them. My PPD/PPA has been pretty brutal this time but these perfect babies sure have a way of making my worries go away, even after an evening filled with tantrums and crying fits. So again, here’s to showing up, showing love, and showing these kids that their mama is the happiest to be theirs 💖” Related Stories Parenting Perfect parents don’t exist—so why do we keep expecting them to? Postpartum Postpartum depression and anxiety are more common than you may think—here are the resources you need Motherly Stories Postpartum anxiety might be invisible to you—but it’s very real to me The latest Life 7 months pregnant on the campaign trail: How motherhood has changed the way I view politics Style Zooey Deschanel’s tips on how to get holiday party-ready (without putting your finger through your tights while your kids are yelling for dinner) Motherly Stories What is the ‘gratitude trap’? How gratitude can keep us stuck Getting Pregnant What to know about using supplements for fertility—and when to start taking them in preconception