Xenia Hatzithomas - This Is Your Parenthood

02/02/2026

“Sleep when the baby sleeps.”

A piece of advice that is handed out all too often in the postpartum period and is a statement that can feel so mimimizing, offering a simple solution to the profound exhaustion and bypassing the realities of new parenthood.

Unintentionally, we are affirming that new parents are on their own. Instead of validating that parents are set up for failure, we are placing responsibility back on them rather than on the systems meant to support them.

It overlooks unpredictable and brief nap windows, urgent and necessary tasks, and the common experience of postpartum insomnia. Many parents need sleep and find that, when the opportunity finally comes, their bodies won’t let them fall or stay asleep.

When the baby sleeps, parents may be feeding or pumping, cleaning, eating for the first time all day, replaying the birth, or lying awake with a nervous system that does not yet know it is safe.

Exhaustion in the postpartum period is rarely a scheduling problem. It’s most likely a support problem, the result of systemic gaps in care.

Parents also need time to feel human again, time to shower, eat in peace, sit quietly, or hold a warm cup of coffee.

Yes, sleep is essential for physical and mental health, so is recognizing the conditions that make rest possible in the first place.

Source
Image

29/01/2026

So many mothers struggle silently — not because they don’t need support, but because something is stopping them from reaching out.

Yes, perinatal mood and anxiety disorders affect about 1 in 5 women.
But numbers don’t tell the full story
The real question is: why aren’t more mothers getting help?

Here are some of the most common reasons mothers don’t seek help when they’re struggling:

• Lack of prenatal education about mental health
• Lack of postpartum screening
• Everyone (including them) is focused on the baby
• People rarely ask how they are feeling
• They believe they are to blame
• They assume struggling means they’re failing
• They compare themselves to others
• “No one talks about this stuff” which turns into: → “I must be the only one” or “There’s something wrong with me”
• Fear of being judged or seen as a “bad mother”
• Shame or unfamiliarity with asking for help
• Feeling like they should be able to handle it
• Believing they’re alone

So how do we change this?

We start by:

✔ Asking new mothers how they are doing — and really listening
✔ Normalizing conversations about postpartum mental health before and after birth
✔ Offering help in specific, practical ways
✔ Sharing our own experiences so others feel less alone
✔ Reminding mothers that needing support is not failure — it’s human

Because when we change the environment around mothers,
we make it safer for them to say,
“I’m not okay.”

28/01/2026

It’s not the big things they remember most. It’s this.

The hand holds. The slow walks. The “let’s go for breakfast together, mommy.”

The tiny, ordinary moments where they feel safe, seen, and deeply loved.
That’s the stuff that stays with them.

And with us.

Here are 10 everyday moments that quietly shape our children’s sense of connection, worth, and security:

1. The way you look at them when they walk into the room — like you’re genuinely happy they exist.

2. When you pause what you’re doing and truly listen to their story — even when it’s long, messy, or hard to follow.

3. Sitting close at bedtime, not just to get through the routine, but to be with them.

4. Letting them help, showing them they’re capable and that their contribution matters.

5. Your tone when they spill, break, or make a mistake — teaching them whether love feels safe or shaky.

6. Laughing together in inconvenient moments, showing them joy doesn’t disappear when things go “wrong.”

7. The gentle, unprompted affection — a hand on their back, a kiss on their hair, a squeeze as you pass.

8. The way you speak about them — because little ears build their self-worth from your words.

9. Saying “I’m sorry” when you mess up, teaching them that relationships can repair and stay strong.

10. Reaching for their hand first, reminding them they never have to walk alone.

None of these require a grand plan. They don’t demand crazy amounts of time, or effort, or special effects…

Only your presence.
Steady, sincere, and there. 🤍

26/10/2025

What mothers have always known — science now confirms.
Skin-to-skin isn’t optional; it’s essential. 🤍

📖 Moore ER et al. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2025;(10):CD003519. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD003519.pub5

22/10/2025

There’s this thing a lot of moms do which, to be completely honest, drives me nuts 😅

It’s comparing who’s got it harder, often using the words “at least” to play a silly comparison game:

“At least you don’t have to worry about working too.”
“At least you have help around the house.”
“At least your parents live nearby.”
“At least you didn’t have a cesarean.”
“At least you got pregnant easily.”
“At least you could breastfeed.”
“At least your kids aren’t so close in age.”
“At least you could have kids.”
“At least, at least, at least, at least...”

We could analyze why mothers do this 🤔, why the so-called mommy wars still exist, and why so many moms feel the need to compare themselves to justify or elevate their experiences.

But for now, let’s just say this: Hard is hard. Period. 💪

It’s hard to be a mom whose full-time job is raising children (by the way, that job = 2.5 full-time paid jobs).

It’s also hard to be a mom who works outside the home and raises children.

It’s hard to raise children without family nearby and it can also be hard to raise children with family nearby.

It’s hard to go back to work and it’s hard not to.

It’s hard to want children and struggle doing so and it’s hard to have children unexpectedly.

It’s hard to give birth vaginally and it’s hard to have a cesarean.

It’s hard not to be able to breastfeed it can certainly be hard to.

See? ✅

It doesn’t matter whose hard is harder. There’s no award for surviving the “harder” motherhood experience. Hard is hard, no matter what.

So, let’s stop, choose compassion over comparison, and start lifting each other up. 💛

18/10/2025

While I first explored this research through the lens of how differently each generation parents, what truly caught my attention was the consistency — how, despite all our progress, parents continue to wrestle with the same deep emotional tensions.

Guilt. Anxiety. Doubt. Burnout.
Why are these feelings still so present — even in an age when we know more, talk more, and try harder than ever before?

Perhaps it’s just that. Perhaps it’s the persistent pressure to “get it right,” or the overwhelming influx of conflicting information about what good parenting looks like. Maybe it’s the challenge of trying to pave a new way — one that often feels worlds apart from how we were raised — while still finding our own grounding.

What about you? Why do you think so many parents today still feel this inner tug-of-war, even as our understanding of parenting evolves?

Sources:
Pew Research (2023), Parenting Views Across Generations
Laurie Children’s Hospital (2024), Millennial Parenting Survey

15/10/2025

“We don’t move on from grief. We move forward with it.”
- Nora McInerny

To each and every parent living with loss,
I share this gentle reminder once again.
A reminder that your grief is valid.

If these days, filled with lord reminders and rituals of remembrance, have been tougher than expected, know that it is understandable if you do or don’t want to take part.

Remember that your grief is your grief.
And there is no right way through it.
No requirements. No rules.

Respectfully and with love.
Xenia

Art

21/09/2025

Χρόνια πολλά, χρόνια δημιουργικά, χρόνια πάντα συνδεδεμένα! Proud to be part of a network of incredible human beings! Attachment Parenting Hellas 🧡

Η Attachment Parenting Hellas έγινε 10 χρονών, και αυτό οφείλεται σε όλους τους συνοδοιπόρους, τους επαγγελματίες συνεργάτες, αλλά και όλους τους γονείς και φροντιστές που μας εμπιστεύεστε τόσα χρόνια!
Είμαι ευγνώμων προς όλ@ εσάς για την κοινότητα που έχουμε δημιουργήσει και τη μεταξύ μας σύνδεση, που κάνουμε λιγότερο μοναχικό αυτό το ταξίδι ο ένας για τον άλλον!
Όσοι καταφέραμε σήμερα να βρεθούμε και από κοντά γίναμε για ακόμη μία φορά μία μεγάλη αγκαλιά!
Σας ευχαριστώ για την εμπιστοσύνη, σας αγαπώ και ανυπομονώ και για τα επόμενα! ❤️

Μαρία Παπαφιλίππου

26/12/2024

From our house to yours, Merry Christmas! May your holidays be filled with love, laughter and light.

❤️🎄✨❤️🎄✨

15/10/2024

‘We don’t ‘move on’ from grief. We move forward with it.’ - Nora McInerny

To each and every parent living with loss,
I share this gentle reminder once again, a reminder that your grief is valid.

If these days, filled with reminders and rituals of remembrance, have been tougher than expected, know that it is understandable if you do or don’t want to take part.

Your grief is your grief. Period.

There is no ‘right’ way through. No requirements. No rules.

Respectfully and with love,
🤍
Xenia

Art

12/10/2024

When a mother
somewhere
forgives herself
for being human,
earth exhales a little.
- breeze

09/10/2024

Remember: What we usually see on social media is not a complete, representative version of one’s life, but a carefully selected view of the highs, and usually an idealistic version which leaves out all of the hard but important lows.

It’s no surprise then that rise of social media platforms has come with increased stress and a heightened sense of doubt as we (consciously or not) compare and contrast our lives to others.

I realise, as I shared some of the highlights of our family weekend away, how easy it is to fall into this trap. How simple it would have been to share a partial view of the good stuff (no doubt, there was lots of it) without also mentioning the not so good (which there was loads of too!). So I decided to change that.

Here are 7 of the raw, hard moments that made this trip well, real:

1. Having to stop by the side of the road to soothe a crying 8 year old whose older brother accidentally stepped on her in the back seat.

2. Listening to my kids argue 4372 times about who is going to sit, sleep, stand where.

3. Juggling the excitement of having our kids participate in their first mini marathon whilst simultaneously managing underlying fear of them getting lost, hurt or sick given the pouring rain.

4. Saying ‘no’ umpteen times to unnecessary soft drinks, sweets and goodies which we have already had too much of (oh, and having to explain why again and again and again).

5. 2 out of 3 kids falling asleep at the table 47 minutes into Saturday night’s birthday (my husband’s) dinner! (After having waited 3 hours for the rain to stop so we could even leave the room for dinner.)

6. Dealing with pre-teen ‘whatever-ness’ and an overall lack of enthusiasm about stuff they would have been so excited about when they were little. (Hello adolescence!)

7. The. Constant. Bickering. And trying very hard to keep my nervous system at bay while balancing both intervening and also letting them work it out (and praying that they do so quickly!).

Voila! Let’s not forget to honour the hard stuff and to remember that real life doesn’t need to be filtered through social lenses.

Art