Xenia Hatzithomas - This Is Your Parenthood

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