If a pregnant woman were to ask me for advice on surviving the first two months, I think I would preface with, "please ignore everything I'm about to tell you..." They always say that every pregnancy and every baby is different and then they go on to give expectations, milestones, norms, etc.
They said I would have a long labor because I was a first time mom.
They said contractions would come gradually and get worse over time.
They said skin-to-skin would help baby latch on easily.
They said breastfeeding would get better over time.
They said my period wouldn't come back for quite some time if I was exclusively breastfeeding.
They said a pacifier would ruin the babies latch.
They said you would feel more and more comfortable nursing on the go.
They said baby would take a bottle easier because of the shield.
They said eight weeks of maternity leave was long and I was lucky.
They said it would be simple to find a pumping schedule.
They said the hand swelling would go down after 6 weeks.
They said a lot of things.
But the reality is that the majority of these did't hold true. What was the norm for the majority of women wasn't true of me and it made my hormonal postpartum self feel abnormal in various times, stages, and events. So my advice, ignore every piece of advice I give if you need to because you are perfectly normal to not be part of the majority.
They said I would have a long labor because I was a first time mom.
They said contractions would come gradually and get worse over time.
They said skin-to-skin would help baby latch on easily.
They said breastfeeding would get better over time.
They said my period wouldn't come back for quite some time if I was exclusively breastfeeding.
They said a pacifier would ruin the babies latch.
They said you would feel more and more comfortable nursing on the go.
They said baby would take a bottle easier because of the shield.
They said eight weeks of maternity leave was long and I was lucky.
They said it would be simple to find a pumping schedule.
They said the hand swelling would go down after 6 weeks.
They said a lot of things.
But the reality is that the majority of these did't hold true. What was the norm for the majority of women wasn't true of me and it made my hormonal postpartum self feel abnormal in various times, stages, and events. So my advice, ignore every piece of advice I give if you need to because you are perfectly normal to not be part of the majority.
Pictures from the most beautiful place I've ever fed Gemma and if only I had a video of her, the most angry in public that she has ever been.
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