Being a pro at parenting has some perks, but it doesn’t always mean it will be easier the second, third or even fifth time around. Although now the mom to five kids, Joanna Gaines is a new mom again at 40 and those long nights with a newborn are still just as rough.
Gaines shared a very familiar photo on Instagram depicting her all-nighter with two-month-old baby Crew. Sunlight streams in on what appears to be a now finally-sleeping baby, surrounded by the evidence of what was clearly a challenging night for mom.
Dish soap, baby wipes, discarded baby clothes and blankets are strewn all over the otherwise picturesque room (I mean who are we kidding, even messy this Fixer Upper’s house looks fab).
The photo caption reads, “Evidence of a late night up with my boy” along with the hashtags “blowouts #allnighters and #thisis40. It doesn’t require many words to explain the feeling that every new—or new again—parent has experienced in those early days.
Gaines has been candid about baby Crew being a surprise addition to the family and that it can be hard to start over with a new baby after so many years away from diapers. In July, Gaines told People what it’s been like to be a “new” mom after 8 years: “I have forgotten almost everything, so it feels brand-new.”
Even so, for Gaines, ages is just a number. “I tell Chip that I feel 25, and in my mind there’s something about it that gives me an extra kick in my step,” Gaines went on. “Forty and pregnant…who would have ever thought that was going to happen? But I’ll take it!”
—Shahrzad Warkentin
Featured photo: Joanna Gaines via Instagram
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