I really love coffee. It makes me a better mother, a better employee, a better wife, a better friend – really, just a better human being. I have spent tens of thousands of dollars at Starbucks and hours upon hours of my time at Starbucks. Some days, I am working furiously on my laptop, racing the clock to 4:30PM school pick up for my children.
I am a type A, organized, plan-ahead kind of person. Becoming a mother was something my husband and I had planned, yet I had anxiety about exactly how it would feel and how it would disrupt our happy status quo. Early in my pregnancy, I read countless books and did as much research as possible to prepare myself for pregnancy, birth, and the early days of having a newborn.
In February of 2014, I conceived my second child. We also found out in that same month that our first child is Autistic. When dealing with Autism, people love to talk about causes, statistics, and interventions, and as we shared the news of our daughter’s diagnosis and my pregnancy, we were met with lots of interesting statements.
Today, we’re sharing their answers to the last 3 questions. They shared encouragement, ideas for getting social support, and ideas for self-care. In responding to these questions, a handful of them reminded us that it’s hard to give advice because what works for one family or mother may not work for another. We’re all so different. And we agree. We hope that their ideas and thoughts serve as a starting point for you if you’re needing to build your postpartum support network or find a better way to take care of yourself.
When we asked mothers to share their truths about their postpartum experience for yesterday’s post, we were overwhelmed by the positive response. So many moms echoed our sentiment that it’s crucial to speak openly and honestly about the challenges of the postpartum transition.
Most of us struggle to some degree during our postpartum days. From questioning why we have gotten ourselves into this to yearning for just 10 minutes of uninterrupted shower time, new mamas feel overwhelmed, anxious, and tired. Both of us at New Mama Project felt alone at times, wondering why we’d never heard of anybody else feeling this way. We searched the internet for stories of other moms who were going through or had gone through what we were, but couldn’t find much.