“They don’t tell you you’re going to cry. A lot. You dropped that pacifier on the floor? Might as well throw in the towel. According to your postpartum brain, your partner will NEVER do it right. Your ‘friends’ will drop you like it doesn’t even phase them. You’ll check your baby’s breathing every few minutes. Whether you breastfeed or formula feed, it hurts. Someone will always have something to say.”
‘As soon as you birth your baby, you’re a different person. Take it and run. You’re now a mama before anything else. There is no higher title than that.’: New mom shares candid reality of first-time motherhood, ‘You’re doing an amazing job’
‘I just want to be a normal mom who loves her baby.’ I kept my secret, scared people would think of me as ‘the crazy chick who wanted to hurt her baby.’: Mom reveals struggle with severe postpartum depression, anxiety, and psychosis
“The constant thought of, ‘I should just crash my car into a tree,’ kept playing in my mind. I was thinking of every way possible to leave Molly and go back to the way my life once was. I was scared to be left alone with Molly. I didn’t trust myself, and I was scared to admit it to anyone. Scared people would always think of me as ‘the crazy chick that wanted to hurt her baby.'”
‘Stop, you’re holding him too close.’ I ignored them, rarely letting go. I assumed everyone was this fiercely protective.’: Mom shares battle with postpartum anxiety, ‘I had no idea why I was suffering’
“Night upon night were panic-filled dreams, cold sweats. I’d frantically fumble through the sheets in search of my baby, who I was convinced I’d rolled on in my extreme state of exhaustion. Everywhere we went, I envisioned horrible things. I became the mother who hovered beneath the play equipment and fed only pureed food in fear he would choke. My mom friends stopped trying. Offers for play-dates and coffee meets ceased.”
‘All I heard from doctors was, ‘Breast is best.’ More like, FED is best.’: Mom urges ‘stop trying to be supermom’
“See a few toys on the living room floor? Leave them. Your toddler will ask for them as soon as you wake up. Screen time is toxic? HA! Jokes on you. Your littles don’t want leftovers? Well then, cereal it is! Stop. trying. to. be. supermom. To your children, you’re already perfect.”
‘He scoffed at me. ‘Why are you depressed? You have a husband who loves you! Stop that. You’re fine!’: Woman opens up about battle with mental health, postpartum depression
“I was at work. One of my customers said, ‘How are you?’ I wanted to be honest. Test the waters on speaking how I really feel. ‘Ya know, I’m not doing too great. I’m dealing with serious depression. I’m not okay right now, I’m struggling.’ He scoffed at me. I replied, ‘I wish it was THAT easy.'”
‘I lost all my pregnancy weight by 8 days postpartum because I was so sad. I don’t feel worthy of them at all.’: Mom’s severe struggle with postpartum depression
“I watched Mackenzie sleep on the monitor for an hour one night just praying she would forgive me for being who I am. I’ve been so confused because I LOVE being a mom. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to be. I have 2 beautiful children… so beautiful and so perfect, that I don’t feel worthy of them at all.”
‘I know it is the best thing I have ever done for my family. Divorce is not a tragedy.’: Mother of two reflects on the positives stemming from her divorce
“I was with my husband for 13 years. I’m 30, which means our relationship began when I was only 17. At the time, we were madly in love. However, there were so many drastic changes from when I was 17. I needed to make changes in my life. One day, though, we just sat down and had a talk about how unhappy we both were.”
‘You should’ve used birth control’ was not something I was ever prepared for as a mom. This complete stranger looked at us in disgust.’: Mom of 10 turns the other cheek on bitter Instagram commenters
“This wasn’t the first time I was met with bitter and awful remarks at the size of my family. I took a deep breath and put my phone away for a while. I’ve grown a thick skin at the words people use to describe us. But this one stung. She didn’t know we lived in two tiny trailers in our backyard while our home was being rebuilt after the fire.”
‘It’s NOT postpartum depression. You aren’t suicidal.’ She said to buy essential oils. I feared the worst.:’ Mom’s postpartum depression dismissed for years, ‘I finally have the right people behind me’
“I smashed the window of our door while holding my child. I knew something wasn’t right. She told me, ‘You should calm down because stress can pass to your breast milk and upset your baby’s stomach.’ I had all these terrifying thoughts of what could happen to him. I said, ‘This is why we lose SO MANY women during the postpartum period. We get ignored.'”
‘I was told I should be grateful for being able to have kids in the first place.’: Mom advocates for others with postpartum depression, ‘Don’t ever feel alone in this.’
“I remember them pushing on my stomach trying to get it out and seeing the fear in my doctors’ faces. ’Kiera, we are going to have to take you right into surgery.’ I couldn’t believe it. Was it something I did? Where is everyone talking about the complications that can go wrong? I try and remember that having two healthy, fed kids is all that matters.”
