“‘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.’”
‘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
‘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.”
‘Someone commented on my postpartum appearance. I cried instantly. You have a choice, every day. Will you heal or will you hurt?’: New mom receives hurtful comment, ‘It did a number on my heart’
“It did a number on my already-raw heart. A week later, I was FaceTiming my mother-in-law. I kept the camera angled towards my husband Luke—careful to ensure no one caught a glimpse of my healing body I was suddenly insecure about. During the call, I was thrust into the camera view.”
‘If I lose 10 more pounds, I’ll be happy.’ I had a postpartum body to ‘fix.’ I was terrified of getting fat.’: Mom overcomes postpartum depression and eating disorder, ‘Change is possible’
“I blamed myself for not being like other moms who had it all together. I would halt a workout and walk out of the gym if I spotted a fitter girl. It drove me into a pit of despair.”
‘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’m not enough for my son.’ Pregnant at 19, my relationship was a toxic monster. I didn’t recognize myself in the mirror.’: Mom details PPD and finding love, ‘Authentic love speaks volumes’
“Our love was like a beast that devoured us both. We’d talk for hours about light and darkness and all of the mystery that was him and I. He accepted my past and my child as if he was his own.”
‘Go the F– to sleep! You ruined my life!’ I cried and clenched my fists. Nothing I did helped.’: Mom shares candid reality of Postpartum Depression, ‘You can come out a warrior’
“He would stay awake all day long and barely sleep at night. ‘You’re so annoying, I wish I never had you!’ When I realized what I’d just said to my sweet baby, I knew something was really wrong. I wasn’t myself.”
‘My OB said, ‘If you’re having feelings of harming yourself or your baby, you need to go to the mental institution immediately.’: Mom urges ‘we need as many postpartum check-ins on mama as we do on the baby’
“A few weeks after my first child was born, I called my OB in desperation. ‘I don’t feel good,’ I said. ‘I’m not connecting with the baby. I’m so tired, I don’t think I can do this.’ The most common gift I received after childbirth was alcohol.”
‘You get the invite. You roll your eyes, instantly scoff. ‘She won’t even remember this or know what’s going on!’: Mom powerfully explains why first birthdays are ‘not just about the baby’
“First birthdays are not just about the baby. There, I said it. When a mother sends you an invitation, she assumes you’re an ally.”
‘I was 18 and woke up nauseous. ‘You need to tell Mark immediately.’ I’d broken off communication with the father 2 weeks before.’: Teen births baby girl, ‘I’d do it a million times over’
“I had one pregnancy test in my drawer and decided to bite the bullet. I watched it load and I could not take my eyes off of it for one second. After 3 minutes, the words appeared… ‘pregnant.’ My heart stopped. I got in my car and made the 10-minute drive to my ex’s house. I just wanted to get to him and hug him. I was carrying his child.”
