Tess Holliday shares tearful selfie: 'This is the reality of being a mom'

Feb. 28 (UPI) -- Tess Holliday shared a tearful selfie this week after a long night with her son Bowie.

The 31-year-old model posted the candid photo of herself crying on Instagram to raise awareness of the challenges facing working moms.

"This is the reality of being a mom. I've been up since 3 am, & every time I get Bowie to sleep & try to lay him down, he wakes up. He is teething & has no clue I have to work today," Holliday wrote to her 1.4 million followers.

"Most days I drink my coffee & smile at every little thing he does thinking it's the best thing in the world, but not today. I've been crying for nearly two hours, & I'm crying as I write this. I've reached my limit, exceeded it to be honest," she confessed.

"My confidence has taken a blow with this birth & it wasn't until this morning I realized why. The pressure of 'looking good' for a living is too much today," she added. "As a working mom in an industry that's as critical as mine, where is the line? The balance? The compassion? Is any career understanding when you show up at negative 10% because your kids wouldn't let you sleep & you want to hide under your covers and cry? Not many."

"I hope one day that changes & society views mothers as the flawed human beings that we are that are just trying to keep our [expletive] together like everyone else. #effyourbeautystandards #workingmoms #disruptperfectmomsyndrome," the star concluded.

Holliday and fiancé Nick Holliday welcomed son Bowie Juniper in June. The model, who is also mom to 10-year-old son Rylee from a previous relationship, frequently posted baby bump photos during her second pregnancy despite criticism.

"I'm not the first plus size women in the public eye to have a baby & share it with the world, & I certainly won't be the last," she wrote in April.

"I'm part of a small minority that's telling you it's okay to not have a perfect baby bump, or not show at all, to be plus size and have a healthy child, & most importantly to find a health care provider that doesn't shame you about your size," the star added.

Holliday, a size 22, signed with the Curves division of Milk Model Management in 2015. She is known for her work with Torrid and H&M and has also modeled for Benefit Cosmetics and Sea by Monif C.