An Iowa news anchor and reporter got real about motherhood and Facebook users are loving it.
On April 12, Erin Kiernan posted a photo on Facebook of herself with her 6-month-old son with the caption, "I used to think I knew what exhausted was. Hilarious." The next day, the journalist referenced the post after she received feedback about how she didn't "look like the same person" in the photo with her son and in her news anchor headshot. She responded by posting the two photos side by side along with an important message for the critics.
"Newsflash! These ARE NOT pictures of the same person," she wrote. "The woman on the left is well rested, spent two hours on her hair and makeup, had a professional photographer take her picture (and photoshop it, I'm sure), and is in the 'glowing' second trimester of pregnancy."
On the other hand, the picture on the right showed a woman who had gotten little sleep, had been covered in drool from her son and had taken a photo with no filter on it.
"You are an idiot if you think these are pictures of the same woman," she wrote, adding the hashtags #truth and #reallife.
Kiernan, who has spoken openly about her experience with infertility and frequently shares updates about her life as a mom, has received more than 13,000 reactions to her Facebook post as well as several compliments about her spot-on response.
"Apparently those who criticize have never been a new mommy with a crabby baby and no sleep!" said one Facebook user. "I think you look AMAZING in both pictures!!!"
"I love that you are so honest and willing to share that you are a normal person just like the rest of us," said another.
After her post sparked such a reaction, Kiernan addressed the previous "crazy couple of days." In a post from April 16, she quoted a touching passage from "The Velveteen Rabbit" and thanked her fans for their support.
"I've said many times that I'm a work in progress -- in every way possible," she wrote. "Thanks for understanding that sometimes the process is ugly and uncomfortable."
H/T Today
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