Hello, Mom

Mom. Mommy. Mama. Maaa (I may hear Stewie from Family guy in my head). “Mom” is a

title that many of us are privileged to have, but none of us gain with the same cookie-

cutter story. Some gain it seemingly by mistake or surprise. Some meticulously planned

and it happened quite easily. Others fought long, difficult battles and endured countless

tears and medical procedures to get here. Some may have come to it through adoption.

However you may have gained the title “Mom”, we all have this in common: motherhood

is hard. I repeat: Motherhood. Is. Hard. It changed me in ways I simply couldn’t have

fully prepared for. Honestly, a little bit of raw insight regarding the turn my life was about

to take as a 24-year-old woman would probably have been, if not welcome, at least

helpful.

I feel like we prepare moms so well for pregnancy; there are many apps and books

discussing things like, “baby is the size of an avocado this week and organs XYZ are

forming”. We build up this great anticipation for the arrival of our bundle of joy and

maybe even take a few childbirth classes. Finally, the big day arrives and there is a

good chance that the delivery didn’t quite go to plan. Maybe you experienced birth

trauma, maybe your baby had to go to the NICU unexpectedly, maybe breastfeeding is

awkward and painful, maybe you don’t recognize that postpartum body starting back at

you in the mirror. Maybe you find yourself thinking, now what? I am not ready for this.

This blog is meant to share some insights from someone who, over the past 12 years,

has had 3 babies and stood by the beds of thousands of postpartum women trying to

figure out this phenomenon known as “the 4th trimester”. I hope to share some practical

advice of what to really expect in the postpartum period- some things I wish I had known

but had to figure out along the way. My prayer is that these posts will prepare and

empower even one person for this hard, beautiful journey you have in front of you. As

an IBCLC, I will have a special focus on breastfeeding, but I am passionate about the

whole postpartum experience and will write on many different topics, as they overlap

and intertwine in so many ways. Please follow along and share as you feel lead.