Helen Flanagan is regularly open and honest about motherhood and so her latest social media post is no different. The Coronation Street actress took to her Instagram page over the weekend to chat about a decision she had made over son, Charlie.
Posting a makeup-free image of herself to her Instagram Stories holding on to Charlie, one, the 31-year-old said: "I've decided to stop feeding. I've really enjoyed nursing Charlie but the past month I've just had enough.
"Today was the first day I'm trying to gradually wean him off during the day (he feeds too much)." She continued: "I love being a mum and I'm so grateful for my babies, but I've just felt so drained so making some changes."
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Helen, who also shares eldest daughter Matilda, six, and three-year-old Delilah, with footballer fiancé Scott Sinclair, went on to share that she had experienced a "challenging" few weeks and was planning on getting childcare to help out with her children.
She wrote alongside a photo of herself breastfeeding Charlie with Delilah tugging at her top in the background: "Found the past weeks quite challenging with mum life. I think it's quite good to be honest as we see such perfect images of motherhood on social media.
"I've never had any childcare for Charlie but I've decided to get some week. To help him eat more and get off the boob. It's just different stages and they will pass."
Helen, who has played Corrie's Rosie Webster on and off for 18 years, went on to share more about her breastfeeding journey with each of her children. Sharing a photo of Matilda as a baby being bottle-fed by her late Nanna, who Helen shared had sadly died last week, telling her followers: "Matilda was off the boob at eight months. I did a bit of both with Matilda.
"I breastfed but I didn't like it at the beginning and found it so stressful. My mum helped me tons with it and I got the hang of it eventually. Matilda used to have a bottle at the weekend. My Nanna here giving Matilda a bottle. My Nanna saw so much of Matilda as a baby and it was before she became unwell and still liked going out and about."
Giving an update on Charlie, she added on Sunday: "So I've managed not to breastfeed Charlie so far all day apart from this morning. Been distracting him with food and I'm trying my best to get him to take a bottle of water. Usually uses me as a drink."
Later, after taking her three children to a local pool for a swim, Helen posted a sweet snap of her wearing a veil with Delilah grinning beside her. She admired that she's been a "stressy mum recently" and that she had "forgot to be a bit fun". She and her daughters were "playing weddings before bed" which she said was Matilda’s "fave".
Helen's frank confessions comes after she shared the heartbreaking news that her Nanna had died. The mum-of-three, from Bury, told her followers on Friday that Nancy was an "amazing lady" and shared how she wished she could have "one last cuddle" and "tell her how much I loved her" in an emotional post.
