(Editor’s note: this is a guest post by Ali Adams.) I’ve written this over and over again. Each time highlighting, deleting, and starting over. How do you write last year I hated my daughter and my life in a way that sounds eloquent? The truth is you don’t. Postpartum depression isn’t eloquent. It’s not neat and tidy, it doesn’t sound pretty and…
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Sweet Ellie-Boy
We discovered we were pregnant with you in November of 2014. Your sister was to be turning two years old then and although we had been determined for her to be an only child, we were excited to be bringing you into the world. Our joyousness was quickly squashed by fears from the outcome of our last pregnancy. I was…
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I Am Strong – Overcoming Abuse and Addiction for Motherhood
I am strong because I fell pregnant with my first son at 14 from sexual abuse. After being physically abused and pushed down a flight of stairs I lost my son at 17 weeks gestation, I was torn. I went off the rails and off the grid, developing a drug addiction and experiencing the worst drop in my mental health yet. I…
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Margot’s Water Birth Story – {Part II}
Well, this story takes off where Part I ended. In Part I, I recounted the story of my daughter Margot’s birth – an intervention-free natural water birth, which was far and wide the most profound and empowering experience of my life. I had an iron will and a driven outlook on a woman’s body’s capability to rise to the challenge…
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Breaking Down Boxes – A Follow-up PPD Post!
I cannot tell all of you who commented on my guest post on Post-Partum Depression (PPD) how much all of your comments meant to me. Somehow January always seems to re-share my guest post on days where I am having an extra tough time and just reading your thanks and knowing that I am not alone in this garbage is…
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D-MER {No, You Are Not Crazy}
We all hear about the joys of breastfeeding. The bonding, the flow of love hormones, and the feeling of accomplishment that often comes to mothers upon reaching goals. Breastfeeding can be tough the first weeks of your baby’s life (or longer), but after that it is smooth sailing right? This promise of positive emotional connections to breastfeeding is true for…
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I am NOT Okay, and THAT’S Okay
One of the most (out of many) horrible things about having post-partum depression (PPD) is the silent battle you are constantly fighting, against yourself, alone, while at the same time hoping like crazy that nobody notices that you might be unhappy/stressed/overwhelmed/anxious/you name it. I’m always nervous for people to randomly drop by my house for a visit should they happen…
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A License to Rape
*I understand there are good doctors and midwives. To those that listen to and respect women, thank you. This blog post is about the many that do not. Rape? A doctor? A midwife? Yes. Birth Rape to be more exact. I remember the first time I read about birth rape. At first it is shocking to see birth and rape…