A new mom, in control
The performance of new motherhood online. This is fine. Everything's fine!
Over the weekend I climbed a mountain with 16 other women to celebrate our friend’s 40th birthday. It was really hard (physically and emotionally). During the hike we talked about hard things we’ve done in our lives (especially towards the end when I was very tired, sore and kind of angry). For many of us, that included pregnancies, birth experiences, and postpartum.
My pregnancy was awful and I hated it. After barely leaving the house because I vomited all day every day I had a relatively “easy” labor and delivery. (Lol).
Two weeks later I had delayed postpartum hemorrhage. I bled out in my house for hours. I had no idea what was happening. I had an emergency D&C and three blood transfusions. My nurse sent in a social worker to speak to me about the traumatic experience. I cracked jokes and kept it casual. My inner monologue was: do not cry. I did everything in my power to convince her I was fine. Everything’s fine!
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