“I’d stay in the same clothes for days and shower once a week. My hair was never brushed. ‘I’ll never let it get this bad again.’ I was disgusted with myself.”
‘The first thing the doctor said was, ‘I see we’re having some anxiety lately?’ I was in denial.’: Mom battling postpartum depression says ‘it’s NOTHING to be ashamed of’
‘I need to leave. I have to get out of here.’ I felt clammy, trapped. Anxiety was taking precious memories away from me.’: New mom shares journey with postpartum anxiety, ‘There IS a way out’
“I’d be on our couch, totally frozen, unable to think or move. ‘This is a step too far.’ If I was emotionally unhealthy, I wasn’t going to show up as the mom I wanted to be.”
I Don’t Have A Natural Motherly Instinct, But I Am Still A Good Mom
“After 10 hours of labor, they placed her in my arms. As soon as the nurses left the room I turned to my husband and said, ‘What do we do?’ I was terrified. Everyone told me my motherly instincts would kick in. 3 years in, they still haven’t.”
‘I’d gained 40 pounds while pregnant. ‘I’m sick of feeling ashamed of my body.’ It was like a switch flipped inside of me.’: Mom of 3 shares body confidence journey, ‘I finally love myself’
“After the initial excitement of having a child wore off, I was ready to start ‘getting back to normal.’ I woke up, got out of bed, and walked past a mirror. I stopped and stared at the person looking back at me. I didn’t even recognize her. The girl I’d known my whole life was gone.”
‘Her cries sounded painful. ‘Did she nap today? Do you think she’s hungry?’ But I knew it wasn’t that.’: Mom navigates daughter’s autism diagnosis, ‘I’m so proud to be her mama’
“She’d fling her head back every night. Her behaviors became violent. I suspected something greater was going on, but I sold myself the idea she’d catch up in her own time. The wait and see remained.”
‘I’m stuck at my parent’s with a baby I don’t deserve. My 19-year-old body was overwhelmed.’: Mom forgives herself for her past, embraces blended family
“‘I don’t deserve to mother him.’ Am I mom or a person? He was too perfect and I was too flawed. I had to forgive myself.’”
‘You don’t have CANCER, GET OVER IT!’ Why is no one hugging me? I couldn’t voice my pain.’: Mom battles PPD, ‘You ARE worthy, it’s ok to ask for help’
“‘SNAP OUT OF IT!’ I was supposed to be the one she never worried about. On the outside, I seemed fine.”
‘I remember being ripped open. ‘Let me tell him I love him. Just once.’ I can hear the final scream.’: New mom battles traumatic labor and postpartum depression, ‘Some stories don’t have happy endings’
“Tears were toppling from my unmoving gaze, the sound of them dripping onto the pillow beneath me was deafening. ‘Please just let me see his face. I can still feel the panic washing over me as my husband left my side. I can still hear the final scream hanging in the sterile air.”
‘I saw a message from a woman I didn’t know. My husband’s breath caught. I was already pregnant.’: After infidelity, single mom learns to thrive with medically complex son
“I watched as they wheeled his small body out of the room, shattered I hadn’t even been able to touch my baby. Suddenly, I had to provide for myself and my son. Motherhood already looked nothing like I had expected.”
‘There is no end to partpartum. No matter how long it’s been, we’ve changed in a way that can’t be undone.’: Mom urges ‘she still deserves respect and so much grace’
“My youngest is 15 months old, and I wear compression socks. My 7-year-old calls my tummy ‘squishy,’ and I can’t hide the stretch marks. I struggle with hormonal swings and anxiety that made me message two doctors and a nurse friend today. No calendar date or finish line can return anything to how it was before.”
