Mommy Worries

Mommy worries….all mommies have them!  They all start with the first positive sign on pregnancy test.  Will my baby hang in there against all odds?  Will my baby be healthy?  What if they have a deformity or disability?  Okay, we’ll deal with it.  Will baby be born prematurely?  Then when baby is born and the amazing joy you feel that baby is totally fine the worries begin all over again!  Will my baby hit all the milestones on time?  How will I be as a mother?  Can I handle this?  Why don’t babies come with a manual?

But nothing really prepares a new mother for any of this until you actually experience it firsthand.  I read all the books, talked to many experienced mothers, and still had no idea until I went through it all myself.  How do you explain to someone what it feels like to be kicked from the inside out?  Or to actually feel what contractions are like?  Or to truly understand the fierce mother bear protectiveness you feel over your little one?

Once on medication, he was a much happier camper and so was mama.  But because of those rough two months, I got postpartum depression.  Never felt like I wanted to hurt my baby but felt like I just couldn’t handle it.  Like I didn’t want to get out of bed in the morning, like I just couldn’t handle anything.  I knew that this was probably postpartum depression since I read so many pregnancy books before baby was born so I got my husband to take me immediately to my family doctor.  Because I got help right away, which is key, I started to feel much better right away.  I think just knowing that you are “normal” and you’re not a failure as a mother is a major step.

Motherhood is definitely the hardest job in the world and the most important.  I’m aware that there will always be mommy worries but all we can do is prepare as much as possible, have faith, and take care of yourself first.  All we need to do is love our little bundles of joy and everything will turn out!!