Mythical Motherhood

When I was young I always dreamt and wished to be in those mythical fairy stories.

Be a healer, a mender, a fighter.
Then motherhood came to me as it has to all such humans. Swiftly and fiercely.

I have felt like I have lost myself to changing diapers, feeding hungry tummies, entertaining the babies.

But it has dawned on me, just now, that I am very much living this dream.

I am a mender

A leader

A healer

A fierce and fighting mama bear

I am the entertainer, the bard, of my wee one. I weave beautiful, magical stories to tickle the imagination and wonder only small children have.

I teach him to listen to the wind as it winds through the trees and the leaves.

I teach him to see and respect the woodland creatures.

I teach him to care for the earth and care for the creatures around him.

I have been gifted the most magical position of all. Mother.

Finding healthy middle ground as a working mom. Within a year. (A rant)

It’s a lot harder than I could have ever imagined.

I get angry thinking about having to go back to work 6-8 weeks after having a baby (8 weeks if you have a MAJOR surgery like a C-Section). 6 to 8 weeks to bond with my new child. 6-8 weeks to establish a breast feeding routine. 6-8 weeks to introduce everyone in my life to my baby. But not too close because GERMS! (Do we even want to bring up postpartum depression or anxiety? PPA almost killed me) 6-8 weeks to heal from the trauma my body endured during child birth, 6-8 weeks for painful, chapped nipples to heal. 6-8 weeks to jump back into the workforce like nothing happened. But something monumental happened.

I feel guilty when I have to take a PDO day when my child is sick and my work team has to carry my load.

I feel guilty when I go pump 2-3X a day to maintain my supply. It interferes with my workflow and rhythm, or I have too much I need to get done today.. So I drop down to 1-2X a day and watch my supply bottom out more times than not.

I feel guilty for PTO, parent teacher conferences, having to stop by the daycare every 4 hours to pump my baby full of Tylenol so that fever doesn’t breach 100°F and inevitably causes him to be sent home. If we get sent home, how in the world will I ever catch up?

I feel guilty that my quality standards at work have to be modified to fit this new life. I had to learn a whole new job a few months after I came back from leave. I want to do well, but I am not the person I was when I left. And this job includes over time and on call that my last job did not. Do you understand the fear of being on a call at 8 pm that requires interaction and total engagement when that is bed time and you are the boob??

I couldn’t take the medications I need to concentrate at work, my work quality was at an all time low… was I going to lose my job because I have to choose between breastfeeding and taking medication for my ADHD, anxiety, or depression?

I have to find a middle ground, but I can’t take choosing my job over my child.

Life would have been so different if America had followed Canada, Norway, Denmark, honestly the list goes on and on for these other countries who seem to actually accept and care for their mothers and children.

I want to be a badass employee. I want to make our company’s name shine and shimmer with greatness.

I want to be a badass mom who isn’t empty at the end of every day from stretching too thin.

I want to be mentally healthy and have time to see a therapist!!!!! But at this point in my life, I’m doing good to get in and see a dentist.

I want to have and interact in my friendships outside of the workplace. But I spend most of my time in the 4 walls of my cubicle. When I’m out, I have 2.5 hours after 5:30 pm to pick up from daycare, get home (30 min drive), dinner??, bath, bedtime, get bottles ready for tomorrow, maybe sneak in a kiss to my husband.

The guilt I feel about being a bad wife and a bad friend… those have been getting to me lately.

Then I remember I haven’t had a shower in 3 days. The smell is me. (So embarrassing!)

Weekends are nice, but I want to do more with them, but also less because I am so tired and need down time.

Shit, the dogs! The cats! They need to see the vet. I need to refill their preventatives. Am I spending enough time with them? Or are they just hostages here?

How do we navigate this terrain??

I know this is not a new territory at all, and mothers have been kicking ass and taking names long before me.

Maybe it’s just me that can’t figure it out.

Maybe I’m in the wrong profession, but I can’t afford to quit my job and go back to school. And I certainly don’t have the time in between work and mommyhood.

My days are flashing before my eyes. Time has never moved so fast in my entire life. I don’t want to miss these days. I don’t want to miss the smallness of my child, he is already growing up so quickly.

Maybe it will get better in time.

Maybe I will get better in time.

Ps… I want to thank my husband who is one of my biggest supporters. I don’t want to ever diminish or minimize the work and effort he puts into supporting me and helping me. I would not have made it to today without him busting his ass. Thank you X 1,000,000.

Pps… thank you to all of the moms before me, and around me, for busting your ass creating something great when nobody could see. It’s a thankless job and you are a saint.

What we don’t talk about to first time mama’s

Well now that I have announced the big news to my family I can finally share it with you fine people!!

I’m going to be a mama! Due January 9th (ish)!

But I want to talk to you first time parents about the things I feel like weren’t brought to my attention until after they happened.

I have always felt like the more knowledge you have the more prepared you are for the things you may have to deal with.

We have all heard that pregnancy hormones are a thing. If you haven’t well let me in on a little secret- it’s intense.

Not all women will go through it like I have, but every article and book I’ve read has told me it will be like PMS. and it has been SO much more than PMS. It is far more comparable to adolescent changes than it is to my PMS.

For example, someone accused me of taking a DVD that I did not take (yes… a DVD) and it broke my heart. I cried for an hour. Then I got over it and then I cried some more. I was convinced that person did not love me.

As I stated it is intense.

With this in mind I felt so much guilt. Guilt for not being happy all the time. I mean I had prayed for this miracle for over a year and I had finally finally finally been gifted with this bundle of joy growing inside of me… how dare I feel anything except gratitude?

And mama/Papa I promise there are good feelings that come with this package deal! There is so much wonder, gratitude, humbleness, pride, and excitement. And fear but like good fear. It’s hard to put into words.

Mama, I want you to know that you will fear the days you don’t have morning sickness or sensitivity (is the baby ok? Is something wrong? Will there still be a heartbeat?) this is normal. I had a hard time finding this in any books but I promise you aren’t going crazy. Well maybe just a little bit, but no more than necessary. Only 7/10 women experience “morning” sickness. Even less experience it to the extent I have and even less experience it to the extent I’ve read other women have. It’s ok though.. it’s ok if you throw up thinking about food and it’s ok if you never get sick. Talk to your OB.

On that note- don’t take it personally if your OB doesn’t know a lick about mental health issues. Seriously, mine is a WONDERFUL OB and when I asked what to do if I experience anxiety attacks and deep depression, the man told me to lower my standards and remember I can’t do as much as I could when I wasn’t pregnant. Great advice for those who don’t have mental health issues, but for the rest of us I would suggest keeping your therapist and psychiatrist appointments. While there isn’t much they can give you on the medicine side, they CAN still help you.

Mama if you feel suicidal I beg you to talk about it with your doctor(s). Don’t judge yourself for it because all you are doing is beating that dead horse. You are going to take things personal. You are going to know your feelings aren’t logical and that won’t do a damn thing to stop them. You will feel rage… yes rage. And that’s ok. As long as you keep an open line of communication with the people who are around you, you will be ok.

And there are going to be people who will put their blinders on and will act rather selfishly towards you. They will not take your emotional state into consideration. They will say the absolute wrong things at the absolute wrong time. They will hurt your feelings, break your heart. And you will cry. You are going to cry a lot so get use to that.

Men/Papa- I have no advice for you except guard your words like you would your life in a hostage situation. She will be looking for victims. Don’t be one. And if you do fall prey to the mama emotions- never fear, it will pass in 15-60 minutes. And she will not know why she was so emotional (unless you really hurt her, because I promise she will not forget).

You two can either let this make you better or let it make you bitter.

Just remember that whatever your case, it is you (or you two) against the problem- not against each other.

Let this roller coaster bring the two of you together, and try to remember to enjoy the ride.

Much love & be kind always ❤️ -Chelsee