Encouragement

I had a beautiful baby.  So, why was I crying every day? Why did I feel like I wasn’t worthy of being a mother? Why was my house such a mess? Why was I such a mess? Everyone says that you never know how much you can love someone until you have a child.  I didn’t feel that instant connection which made me feel even more guilty and lacking as a mother.  To make matters worse, I felt like I couldn’t tell anyone.  What would people think of me if I admitted that I didn’t feel head over heals for my child? As many as 30% of women experience some sort of postpartum mood disorder. According to Postpartum Support International,...

I’ll never forget the moment I realized I was a danger to my children. My husband and I had just gone to the store with our four week old son, and were loading things into our car. As I grabbed the car seat carrier to put my newborn in the car, I had one vivid thought in my mind – throwing the car seat. Thank God, I didn’t. But having been diagnosed with postpartum depression the day before, I knew my family couldn’t afford to wait until the antidepressants I’d been prescribed kicked in. I needed more help, and I needed it immediately. That afternoon I went to the ER. I cried as I told the admissions representative what happened,...

I am the worst about making decisions, especially when my decisions directly affect my family. What's for dinner? Dessert? Decision overload. Do I want peanut butter balls or pecan pie? Ah! Both. No, seriously I always have both. That brings me to today. Do I stop breast feeding or not? Making the decision to breast feed and work was something I knew would have a limited time frame. Working and pumping are not always ideal, so I set a goal for myself: Make it to Christmas. I reached that goal with flying colors and a happy baby to boot (even through RSV and her first major growth spurt). Then... month four. My perfect little sleeper let everyone know she was working on...

I get a stomach ache every time I see it…someone looking at their phone from behind the wheel.  My mind races with questions like, “Don’t they realize how dangerous that is?”, “Don’t they care about their own safety/livelihood?”, and “Don’t they know my kids are in the car next to them?!” My unanswered questions quickly lead to frustration.  To avoid having my frustration turn into anger, I try to stop and ask myself, “are you 100% focused on your driving 100% of the time?”  The honest answer is no.  While I may have signed the “It Can Wait”, as well as Oprah’s “No Phone Zone” pledges, committing never to text and drive, that doesn't make me immune to distractions...

I anticipated that Jack would be a late walker. I don't know what it was, but from the time he was a tiny newborn I was determined not to rush his gross motor development. He took what seemed like forever to roll over, but I was unfazed. I didn't worry a bit when he waited until 8 months to sit unassisted. And as the months continued to pass, I breezily reassured relatives that "some babies never crawl, they just skip straight to walking." He eventually did start crawling and, later, pulling up and cruising, but at 18 months that's still all he does. Sometime around 15 months my confidence started to waver. I found myself avoiding the park and any other situation where strangers...