by Keara
The months after giving birth were the toughest time of my life. I gave birth during May of 2020, which was in the middle of a global health pandemic we now know as COVID-19. That alone made my entire pregnancy nerve-racking and sort of disappointing, yet it was exciting because this was my first time having a child.
My birth plan went nowhere near how it was supposed to, as I needed to have an emergency C-section procedure that I wasn’t prepared for, so I was really lost. I really needed my immediate family members to be there with me in the room during my first child’s birth, but due to COVID-19 they couldn’t be there. Only one person could be present, which was the father of my child.
Once I came home, the weight of frustration began to set in even more, because like I said I wasn’t prepared for an emergency C-section, so I sort of had to figure things out on my own when it came to my own body recovery.
I am now two years postpartum and I’m finally feeling my stomach muscles again, and just now feeling like myself emotionally.
Childcare was a huge struggle after giving birth. I believed that I could just find a daycare and immediately get back to work, but due to the pandemic, finding not only decent but affordable childcare was impossible for me at the time. Either all spots were filled by the time I got ready to go back to work physically, or the places that I wanted my child to attend were just completely unaffordable for a single mother like myself.
So, for a whole year postpartum I always had my kid with me. This was a good thing and a bad thing. Good thing is I was able to bond with her so much that we have a great connection as mother and daughter so far. She listens and has a great learning ability. Another good thing is that I was able to breastfeed her with no problems, so she was able to get the nutrients that she needed directly from me. Bad thing is I didn’t get any time to myself personally to recover from the traumatic experience of being pregnant during a pandemic, and to give my body the time it needed to recover physically.
To counter this, I set out to work for myself and build my business and service I had before my pregnancy, since I couldn’t find childcare to go back and work a traditional 9-5 position. I’m now able to work from home and I was able to find childcare, but when my child is home from time to time, I am now able to work while she’s present as long as we stick to a schedule. It all worked out in the end even after a rough start.
This blog was written by one of our guest bloggers,
About Keara. . .
I am a single mother of one from South Carolina, and a freelance visual artist who works from home. I write to let other moms know that they are not alone on this journey of parenthood.
Want more information on this topic or others like it? wichealth.org has a free online category packed with lots of lessons and postpartum information titled Pregnancy and Baby's First 6 Months. We invite you to check it out!
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