A few years ago, Romi Lassally started TrueMomConfessions.com, a Web site that encourages mothers to talk about the triumphs and the tortures of raising kids. She says the site gives mothers an outlet for their "mommy misdemeanors" — a safe space to escape from that idealized notion of how blissful motherhood is supposed to be.
The site was inspired by an embarrassing moment that Lassally, the mother of three, shared with a girlfriend: Late one night, Lassally says, one of her children woke up and suddenly vomited everywhere, "especially on the carpet."
Exhausted, Lassally tended to her child and went back to bed — leaving the vomit on the carpet for the dog to eat.
"I told this story the next morning to a girlfriend who just winced in disgust but, I think, was really marveling at my resourcefulness," Lassally tells Michele Norris.
Lassally's friend, in turn, shared her own red-faced mommy mishap, and the idea for a mommy confessional Web site was born.
"It became a domino effect of women just spilling the beans and saying what they really feel," Lassally says.
Now Lassally has published a collection of posts from the Web site in a new book, True Mom Confessions: Real Moms Get Real. The confessions range from silly — "I eat all the marshmallows out of the Lucky Charms," writes one mom — to serious: "I cry in my car. A lot," writes another.
Lassally says the book and the Web site offer a window into motherhood. She says the anonymity of the site allows for more honest expressions.
"There is a huge disconnect between what we say and how we feel and how we present ourselves to the world," she says. "Even in this tell-all culture we seem to be living in, it's still not easy to say what's on your mind."
Lassally hears from a lot of women who are desperate for more time to themselves. One mother writes, "I used to dread getting gas. But now I enjoy it 'cause I just stand there getting a couple minutes of 'me time.' Sounds pathetic, I know. I must need a vacation!"
Other women share dissatisfaction with their post-baby bodies. But it's not all doom and gloom; some women admit to finding self-confidence despite imperfections. One mother writes:
"I'm overweight. My stomach is covered with stretch marks and is saggy and squishy from recent weight loss. My boobs are saggy. My hips are disproportionately large. My thighs jiggle. My underarms wave way after I stop. And despite all this, I love my body and can't understand why everyone always wants me to change it!"
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