No one really prepares you for purple crying

 No one really prepares you for purple crying

That stretch of time where your baby cries for hours
And nothing you do seems to help
Not the rocking
Not the nursing
Not the singing or the pacing or the bouncing on that yoga ball at 2am

They’re fed
They’re changed
They’re loved
And they still cry
And cry
And cry

And it’s not because you’re doing anything wrong
It’s not because they don’t feel safe
It’s just a developmental phase
A hard, exhausting, emotionally draining phase

But in the thick of it
It can feel like failure
Like you’re missing something
Like you’re not enough

You are enough
Even when they won’t settle
Even when your nerves are fried and your eyes are full of tears too

Put them down if you need to
Step outside for a breath
Ask for help
Cry too if you have to
This doesn’t last forever
Even though in the moment it feels like it might

Purple crying is real
It’s brutal
It’s temporary
And it does not define your worth as a parent

You’re doing so much better than you think