Tempest in a Teapot

I wrote a little bit on this blog about how I was struggling with motherhood awhile back. My birthing experience was less than ideal and really I was NOT thrilled to have this squalling infant after everything I had been through. And it’s not something people talk about – these weird feelings & emotional highs/lows/freakouts that a woman goes through after giving birth. Let alone having to recover from a major surgery while surviving on little to no sleep! But then the greatest thing happened: I got emails from half a dozen different women who said not to feel alone. They had a hard time, too.

It meant the world to me to hear from them. These are women who I KNEW were fantastic moms. I had seen them in action! They were who I wanted to be someday. And they opened up about their difficulties, emotional breakdowns and feelings of disconnect. They had felt the same way I was feeling right then. Every single one said it would get better. And you know what?!

THEY WERE RIGHT.

So, thank you, ladies. Your willingness to talk about your struggles helped me so much. I will not hesitate to share my story with another woman who may be having trouble coping either – because you all were willing to talk to me and expose your own weaknesses to help me cope with mine.

It has gotten better, incredibly so. Madeline is a constant delight to me now – even when she’s wearing her crankypants. I’m sure life as a parent will continue to be a challenge, but all I can say is BRING IT ON. I think I’m ready.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 24th, 2008 at 8:36 pm and is filed under Baby Madeline, General life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.