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Serena Williams’ Reaction To Her First Day Away From Her Daughter Is So Relatable To New Moms

by Casey Suglia

Having a newborn is a life changing experience. There are a lot of hardships within that first month of first time motherhood — from the lack of sleep, to the constant feedings, and persistent crying. On one hand, some moms wish they could have the opportunity for a break every now and then. But on the other hand, all of the hardships account for something amazing — and that is motherhood in a nutshell. New mom Serena Williams knows this to be true. On Snapchat, Williams documented missing her daughter on her first baby free day and it is too relatable.

Williams gave birth to her daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. with husband Alexis Ohanian at the beginning of September, and has clearly been enjoying her time as a mom ever since. In the weeks following Olympia's birth, Williams and Ohanian have shared the cutest home movie and have been documenting Olympia's life through her Instagram account. Based on the happiness they've shared so far, there is no wonder why Ohanian and Williams would be reluctant to leave their daughter with a baby sitter or spend some time without her (especially after Williams said they had a few complications with her birth).

But every mom deserves a break from her kid, even if their kid is a super adorable newborn. And thus, almost one month since giving birth Williams finally had her first baby free day.

But just because her day was spent without her daughter didn't necessarily mean that Williams' mind wasn't with her daughter. On Thursday, according to People, Williams documented her day without Olympia on Snapchat but wasn't necessarily happy about it.

"First day out. We miss her already," Williams captioned one of the Snapchats of her and her fiancé, according to People. In another Snapchat clip posted to YouTube, Williams and Ohanian don the watermelon ears Snapchat lense and talk about it (spoiler alert: Ohanian doesn't like it).

But like most conversations between new parents, the topic quickly changes from Snapchat filters to their newborn. "We miss Olympia," Williams says into the camera. But Ohanian shakes his head and points to Williams. Moms — who can blame them?

While Ohanian might be shaking his head at Williams, most moms out there are probably nodding in agreement with Williams. Missing your child at any stage during their life (newborn to adulthood) is so common.

These feelings (including Williams') can all be attributed to a mix of mom guilt and separation anxiety. Mommy guilt shows itself in a variety of ways — like when a mom leaves a newborn with a family member or friend for the first time and has a million thoughts that run through their head. While moms might spend the time away from their child wondering if they need anything or if they're unhappy, they should know that they're in good hands. There is no reason to feel guilty for taking some time to yourself.

And while most children don't develop separation anxiety from their parents until the age of 8 months, according to Parents, maternal separation anxiety is a very real and common thing. "Maternal separation anxiety is an unpleasant emotional state of worry, guilt, and sadness experienced by mothers during a short term separation from their infant," Dr. Hui-Chin Hsu, said in a report for the University of Georgia, according to Babble. According to the report, according to Babble, if infants had suffered from "health related vulnerabilities," the anxiety for moms could be higher (which could definitely be the case for Williams). But while this separation anxiety is completely normal the report states that it can have an impact on the mothers themselves.

But lets be real, how could Williams not have momentary separation anxiety with a daughter as cute as hers?