Have a baby. Get hungry. Attempt to go out for quick kid-free dinner. Get slammed by a bunch of strangers.Â
Yep, that is pretty much what new mum life is like these days. And Megan Gale is the latest mum to cop it.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past two weeks, you are probably well aware that Aussie model Megan Gale just gave birth to a little girl (born 27 September).
She named her Rosie. Both Megan and footballer fiance, Shaun Hampson are clearly in love with their new addition and have shared numerous shots of their little sweetpea on Instagram.
Then the loved-up new parents decided to take a break from the baby spam, sharing a photo of themselves heading out for a quick dinner date. Without Rosie. And without River (their three-year-old son).
Bring on the trolls
As Megan explains in her initial post:
“River with his Nanna. Rosie with her Nonna. With about 10 mins to get ready my man & I are out for a quick dinner date.
Missing our babies 😩Â but SO important for parents to have some couple time when / if they can grab it.”
As Megan left her house for an hour (looking AMAZING might we add), the trolls crept out from under their bridge. Why? To roast the new mum for her decision to enjoy a quick kid-free dinner date with her man.
While there were many supporters and nice comments on Megan’s post, applauding the new mum for keeping it real and taking care of herself, there were quite a few Captain Judgerpants out and about as well.
Megan has since deleted most of the ruder comments, but some of the passive aggressive comments remain. You know, the comments about “Wow, isn’t bub only a week old?”
*Cue the collective eye roll*.
Megan strikes back
Since the trolls have come out, Megan has been shamed into defending her decision, editing her post to include the following reminder:
“Edit – For sure we have to devote the majority of our time to our kids. However, IF it can be managed well, stealing an hour or two, here and there as a couple or an individual is a “win” for parents,” she writes.
“In this instance we had left Rosie with my very experienced and capable Mum after I had bathed, dressed, fed her and put her down plus I’d expressed enough milk for two feeds just in case.”
Newsflash: Mums get hungry too
She then touches on a VERY important truth about being a new mum, one that probably hits home for a lot of us (especially the first time around):
“With River I barely left the house for the first 6 weeks, out of fear, out of guilt and I lost a little part of myself and also developed what I now feel was a mild case of post natal depression.
If you’ve ensured your child is well looked after in your absence, then there is nothing wrong with some alone time as a couple or as an individual. You’ll be happier for it and more importantly, better parents.”
Here here, Megan.
Go back under your bridge
The new mum even has a special message to all the “ignorant, judgemental” keyboard warriors out there: “It delights me to inform you that I block and delete instantly. No room for that crap here – this is a place of love & peace.”
Yes, the internet is a public domain. But that doesn’t give us the right to be assholes. So before you shame, try this. Stop yourself from typing something rude and just keep scrolling.
As one commenter reminds us, “Calm down people. They’ve only gone for dinner, not left the country without the bubs!”
Mums need support. And they need food, preferably food someone else has cooked. So let a new mum eat, dammit.
Need more reason to stop the mum shaming? Have a look at the story behind this viral post that launched a thousand mean comments.
