Having a baby is really such a beautiful thing. Bringing life to this earth is just such an inexplicable feeling to describe. You are overjoyed, relieved, excited, yet happy, scared, and anxious all at the same time. So many things going through your mind. The truth is so many powerful emotions can even result and be a part of depression.
Post-Partum Depression
It’s real. You hear about it, and you think it won’t be you but the reality is many women often experience postpartum depression after delivering their baby. Though I did not experience a severe form of postpartum depression, I certainly have dealt and currently still dealing with anxiety. If you are experiencing this, or know someone who is, I encourage you to seek help. There is support out there. If you don’t feel comfortable reaching out to your partner, a family member, or a friend to express how you’ve been feeling. Reach out and seek help at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration hotline. Before you can take care of anyone else, you need to ensure that you can take care of you. YOU matter Mama!
You will have an extremely heavy period
I have no idea if my first postpartum period was just 100 times heavier than after my first pregnancy however, I will tell you this, it was intense. I mean I expected it to be heavy but, I honestly felt like my body was angry for not having a period in over a year. Because I was caught off guard, I did not have adequate protection with me. I ended up picking up some of the post-partum disposable underwear, Frida MOM Disposable Postpartum Underwear – that I used postpartum. This was about 4 months post-partum around the time I stopped my breast feeding journey.
Pelvic pain
So, you finally gave birth to your sweet little bundle of joy, but… wait… why are you still feeling so much pain in your pelvis? If like me, you still experience some pelvic pain after labor and delivery I was told it is normal. If the problem persists then you might want to check with your doctor. According to the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, 20% of women experience PPGP/SI joint pain, 75% of the time, the pelvic pain is a result of having pelvic floor dysfunction, but this can only be diagnosed through a history of physical examination and tests.
Hair loss
SO MUCH HAIR LOSS! My goodness, if you are lucky, you will not experience it as bad as I did. However, all I remember is washing my hair and thinking I definitely have a bald spot. I kept asking my husband if I was bald because I was in disbelief of what had just occurred. When I say that I saw a ball of hair that could probably make up a wig; was about the amount of hair I would lose on a wash day, I am not kidding. As always, I went to my sister-in-law for help (she is a hair expert/Mama/ guru/ my go to for everything you name it! Love you! all 3 of you to be exact lol xo!) She suggested using a garlic shampoo and conditioning treatment. I could not believe I had forgotten all about this product, it is one of my favorites. I also used collagen hair vitamins to help with hair health and I have to say I have seen significant improvement (3 months in). If you are going through the same, don’t be hard on yourself! Postpartum hair loss is normal and temporary, our bodies are still going through changes. Eventually your hair growth cycle will go back to normal within 6-12 months postpartum. I am currently at 10 months postpartum and starting to see some normalcy.
Breastfeeding
Okay… I had a really hard time with this. As much as I wanted this to be a beautiful long journey, I intended it to be that way, it just did not work out for me in either pregnancy. With my first pregnancy, I delivered pre-term. I had my daughter at 35 weeks, I don’t know if this had anything to do with it, but my milk supply did not come in until day 3 when we were leaving the hospital and she would just not latch on. I didn’t have much support at the hospital to begin with (there wasn’t a lactation consultant in that weekend, and some of the nurses weren’t helpful at all, they made me feel like I was just doing everything wrong). My second experience was much better in the hospital, but despite the help I received from the lactation consultant, my milk supply just was not where it needed to be. My son was already at 3-4oz per bottle and I was pumping between 1-2oz every 4 hours. I tried so many different things; lactation cookies, teas, pumping more often, using a hospital grade pump (this really helped a lot) but it just wasn’t enough, and it was not working for me. Moral of the story is, breastfeeding is not for every mama.
I ended my journey at about the 4-month mark. Ultimately the lesson learned is, “fed is best!” Whether you can offer your baby breast milk or formula, if your baby is being fed and is healthy, that is all that matters! So, if you’re having a hard time, know that you’re not alone. This is all a part of being a mama, just know that you got this!
Humble Mama 