On Tuesday Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, gave birth to an 8lb 6oz baby boy. She may be royalty, but you and I both know, there’s nothing royal about having a baby.

Think about this bloggy-world girlfriends who have given birth, you know what’s going on in Kate’s life right now, don’t you?

She’s likely working to get that baby boy to latch on and nurse.  She just might be gritting her teeth in those few moments of each nursing.

She’s finding out that lanolin is her new best friend.

She’s sitting carefully…very carefully depending on how many stitches she likely has.

She’s discovered a new use for ice packs that she didn’t know existed before.

She’s trying to discern cries. Is he hungry? Dirty? Uncomfortable?

She’s getting little sleep.

She’s added the word “engorged” to her vocabulary.

She’s just beginning a journey to figure out how to be a wife and a mom.

She’s more tired than she’s ever been.

She’s learning to sleep when the baby sleeps.

She’s finding muscles she never knew she had because she used them when pushing that baby out.

She’s tending to an umbilical cord for the first time in her life.

She’s likely shedding more tears than she has ever before as those crazy hormones kick in.

She’s dealing with reality that those maternity clothes are destined to be her wardrobe for a little while.

She may be royalty, but the initiation into motherhood is blind to status, position, or power.

She may have extra help, but she’s still not insulated from the the changes she’ll experience in her heart, mind, and body.

Welcome to motherhood, Kate. You’ve joined a sisterhood of beautiful women who have found that this is the hardest job we’ve ever had, but we wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.