by Alison
“Am I going to be okay?” This question came up multiple times a day after giving birth to my fifth child, a nine pound baby boy.
As a mother, it is our job to cook dinners, clean, do laundry, and also do pickups and drop-offs. Who is going to do this now? During my postpartum days it was very tough to allow any support. Even if it was just a hand being extended out to help me pull myself out of bed, it was very hard to accept it until I noticed, in order to heal I have to accept the help first.
My mother made us my favorite Hispanic soups, which fed us for our dinners. It was so needed, because I couldn’t even get up from my bed some days. My mother-in-law flew in from Houston Texas to help with my other children, picked them up and dropped them at school, and also helped entertain them. My husband helped with cooking and making sure I was not getting up and cleaning. There were some days where he literally took the vacuum out of my hands, and I was in tears telling him I needed to help!
I kept forgetting this is such an important time to rest even if it is just those first three days in the hospital.
My situation may not look like anyone else’s with the hands I had to take over, but what made my postpartum days a little bit easier was accepting just that, that I was in postpartum.
Postpartum is one of the most important times to rest, because this period is so short but can cause so much illness and mental illness if one does not take time. Take whatever time you can spare to rest and refresh.
I still look back and think, I should have stayed in my bed and done nothing when I had all the hands there. Postpartum takes a village. Even if one may not have the village, rest when it is possible.
This blog was written by one of our guest bloggers, Alison.
About Alison - My name is Alison, I have survived postpartum depression twice and I have five beautiful children. Two boys and three girls. When I was a single teen mother WIC helped me with multiple services, and I thought what better way than to blog my experience as a way to say thank you in helping me navigate motherhood and all its stages.
Want more information on this topic? wichealth.org has a free online lesson called Getting The Support You Need For Baby's First Weeks . Find this lesson at wichealth.org in the Preparing For Your Newborn category!
