Sometimes I feel like social media is out to get me. Like, if my own kids don’t drive me crazy one day, Facebook will. Or I see a blog post that blasts moms doing a certain thing, making them feel “less than,” or beautiful Pinterest-inspired parties that make me think that my own parties will never be good enough, or make my birthday kids as happy as their friends with the craftier moms.

Logging into certain accounts every day is enough to make a mom want to give up and feed her children cereal for breakfast, because why bother? If they’re not eating kale with their roasted chicken and quinoa, why bother cooking at all? Instagram pictures of perfectly dressed, gorgeous, modelesque children make me think that maybe I should battle my toddler when he wants to leave the house in mismatched boots.

Do you sometimes feel like that, that we have to be a Supermoms, or at least appear that way online, or other moms will deem us “bad mothers”?

Alexa Bigwarfe and Kerry Rivera have written a book designed to take away the judgement, share some wisdom, offer options for all kinds of “modern mom stresses” and do so in a way that reinforces the fact that no matter what I decide is best for my family, IT’S OKAY. I don’t have to be “Supermom.” It gives us moms permission to Lose the Cape and make decisions for ourselves. Because if we haven’t earned that right after raising the little humans we’re responsible for, well, then I don’t know what the point of having kids is. (That’s tongue in cheek, but you know what I mean, right?)

Some of the “Modern Mom Stress” topics that the book covers: figuring out what to do with a newborn, developing a morning routine, dealing with chores, forming a “mom squad,” distractions and the time suck that is social media, finding “me” time, and lots more. Kerry and Alexa explore them in a way that is honest, totally un-judgemental, and really, really funny.

My favorite example comes from the “sex after baby” section, in which the following can be found:

If you’re nursing, you’re dry as a bone down there. You may still feel tender . . . And oh yes, YOU’RE TIRED! You don’t feel like “getting it on.” You feel like sleeping. You lust for sleep. Sleep is hot. Sleep is way hotter than sex.

It’s like discussing the things that stresses us out as moms most with your best girlfriends….the ones you can confide in and get all the juicy details from.

Some days are just BAD. Sometimes, I don’t know how to handle a parenting situation, or what the “right” thing to do is. (okay, a lot of times) But that doesn’t make me a bad mom, it makes me human. I think we can all relate.

Lose the Cape: Realities from Busy Modern Moms and Strategies to Survive is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions.

I received a copy of the book to review, but all opinions are 100% my own. Of course.