Rumer Willis talks about one of her first big parenting challenges.
On Thursday, the new mom, 35, posted a Reel on Instagram in which she talks about her experience caring for daughter Louetta, 5 months, while she was battling the flu — at the same time Willis and boyfriend Derek Richard Thomas, 28, were.
“So I shared something today, but I wanted to go a little deeper. Louetta and I, as well as her dad, actually got really sick recently. And we’ve all been hit pretty hard with the flu and what was amazing is that it was the first time, I would say as a mother, I really had that moment where I thought, ‘Wow, how am I going to take care of myself? And take care of her,'” she shared.
Noting that she didn’t call for reinforcements from her family because they were “out of town and I didn’t want any of them to get sick even if they were here,” Rumer said it was “this moment where it’s almost healing in this way that I can look at all those times in the past, where maybe there was anxiety or panic or something. And allowing myself to really see what I’m capable of because I was also really trying to let her body fight whatever it was fighting.”
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Willis went on to explain that even though she wasn’t medicating her daughter, she was still nervous about the fever.
“Luckily, it was just one bad night, but I was sitting there, I think it might have been midnight, holding her in the bathtub. I remember this moment when I felt like I was her whole world. I was her safe place. And she’ll call me whenever she’s not feeling well, just like I still call my mother,” she shared.
In trying to “cultivate the confidence in myself that I can create that safety for her, that I can be that person for her,” Willis found that asking for help was a key part.
“I talked to a mom friend who literally walked me through the whole process of dealing with a baby with a fever,” she recalled, adding that “I wanted to really highlight how I found strength in myself, and I was vulnerable enough to ask for help and find resources that will help me take care of myself so I can take care of my daughter.”
“I think it’s incredibly important that we create community and allow ourselves the space to ask for that help.”
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Rumer Willis holds daughter Louetta.
Rumer Willis/Instagram
Willis shared a similar sentiment in another post, where she shared photos of herself lying down with her young daughter.
“The resilience I mustered in the face of a common challenge faced by mothers everywhere truly showed me so much about myself and my abilities. As a parent, sometimes you question your abilities, but that week, while the flu was raging, it became clear that I am more capable than what I ever thought,” she wrote in part. “That I can be her safe place and that I can hold the tank for both of us.” “I’m so grateful for the moments that push me and challenge me and show me how much stronger I am than I ever thought I was,” she continued. “It was hard to watch her go through her fever, but we managed to pull through, fueled by love, determination and the right nutritional and nutritional support I’m lucky to have. It’s the kind of support so many need.”
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Source: HIS Education