Allison Cooper

I got married young and had my first child young.

In case someone comes out of the woodwork and goes extra hard with the mom-shaming for choosing to bottle feed, here are some really important reasons not to feel ashamed.

When I brought my son into the world, I thought that he would be an awful lot like me. He had to be, right? He grew inside me; I nourished him; I was the one home with him day in and day out during those very impressionable years, while my husband worked a grueling military schedule — yet there are few similarities to be found.

While this final stage might take years to get to, you will finally come to a place where you realize that strong truly is the new sexy and you did something that took all the strength that you have inside you to bring your child into this world. This is not something to take lightly, this is heroic.

Who is wearing heels or even wedge booties to the bus stop in the morning? Not I! And not to mention that a heel is typically way to dressy for anything I plan to wear to the bus stop. Hit up your local Target with $50 to spend and you will return home with 2-3 pairs of simple flats that you can mix and match for comfort in the morning and a little pop of color.

Finding yourself doing extra loads of laundry because your toddler’s favorite T-shirt is dirty and you know there will be the mother of all meltdowns tomorrow if it’s not clean?

"The whining is getting annoying. Yes, I said it and you read correctly. It’s annoying to hear you repeat the same thing over and over about yourself, whining about how you need to change your eating habits, work out more, and hire a new trainer. Calm yourself and move forward with your life . . ."

I can't just embrace the chaos. I wish I could follow the advice: “Stop stressing, Allison, you work full time, stop comparing yourself to mothers who don’t." But I can’t help but to play that comparing game and label myself as the inadequate mom.

In theory, the concept of a new mom not being able to answer your phone calls and/or texts right away should be self-explanatory...

Most of us grow up envisioning the “perfect” family that we will have one day. One boy, one girl – 3 years apart. Right?