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Early years

09th Oct 2018

Woman praised for opening up about her relationship struggles since becoming a mum

'Things haven’t been too great lately with Thomas and I.'

Anna O'Rourke

Woman praised for opening up about her relationship struggles since becoming a mum

“If you are in a similar situation then please know you are not alone.”

Having kids puts even the strongest of relationships to the test. Now one woman is shining a light on her own difficulties in a bid to show other new parents that they’re not alone.

Taking to Instagram, British blogger Sarah Woodside told to her 11,000 followers this week that she and her boyfriend Thomas have been struggling since they welcomed their 15-month-old son Arlo.

Sarah, also known online as Diary Of A Fat English Girl, admitted that the couple’s lives had been thrown off kilter since becoming parents.

“Things haven’t been too great lately with Thomas and I,” she said in a post on her page.

“I’m not sharing this because I want to tell the world our problems, but because I’ve always been real. If you are in a similar situation then please know you are not alone, having a child changes your entire life so it’s only normal your relationship may shift a little (or a lot) too.”

Continuing, Sarah said that she and Thomas were committed to making things work.

“We have both been stressed, run down, tired, grumpy and just a bit horrible to one another. But we are trying, because we want to make our family work and we love each other.

“I’m trying to bite my tongue a little more and he’s trying to be a bit more present and involved and we’re both trying to appreciate the other a little more. It’s going to take work to get back to our happy little groove but we have both agreed that we want to put the work in.

“We’ve been together almost 5 years and a lot has happened in that time, but since our man arrived all our focus has been on him (as it should be) and we’ve been neglecting one another. So here’s to hard work and to getting us back on track.”

The post has earned Sarah the praise of her followers, many of whom admitted to having similar struggles.

“I couldn’t have read this at a better time, this last week me and partner have been going through the same thing, he says he thought about leaving me as he doesn’t feel like I want him there as there is no affection and we are more like housemates than a couple. We have decided to try harder and work at it, no one tells you how much changes when you have a baby,” shared one new mum.

“I’m so glad I read this. My relationship has been like this for a few months. I’m not sure it’s fixable. My anxiety tells me I can’t be on my own with 3 children, but I know I’ll never be truly alone,” commented another.

Fair play to Sarah for her honesty – we love nothing more than a mummy blogger who gives it to us straight.