Real Women. Real Experiences. Ellee M
Q: Tell me about yourself. Where are you from? How many kids to do you have?
A: Hi I’m Ellee and I am a 33 year old mom of 1 human baby and 3 fur babies ;) originally from western Kentucky but have lived in Nashville, TN for 11 years now.
Q: How was your pregnancy? The good? The bad?
A: My pregnancy was very uneventful— I had very minimal nausea for the first trimester and discomfort in the third trimester once I reached 37 weeks but other than that, it was a breeze!
Q: How was your labor and delivery? Did you birth at home? Hospital? C-section?
A: I had a scheduled c-section and it was honestly amazing. Of course there was some anxiety not knowing what to really expect leading up to this major surgery but once I got my spinal tap, I felt NOTHING and my son was born 6 minutes later! My recovery has also been much speedier than the average c-section recovery- I was up moving about the next day and although there was pain at the incision, it was never more than a 6 on a scale of 1-10 and I only used prescription ibuprofen for pain management.
Q: Describe your postpartum experience. Did you experience postpartum depression? Postpartum anxiety? Postpartum rage? Were you aware of these things postpartum?
A: I definitely had the baby blues for about 2 weeks postpartum… I would cry every day at different moments out of happiness, joy, exhaustion, being overwhelmed, mourning the death of my old life, etc. My hormones started leveling out at the 2 week mark and although there will always be moments of crying whether it’s good, bad or indifferent, they don’t come like a wave like they did in those early postpartum days. I had heard of ppd and baby blues prior to having my baby but I had NO idea what all it entailed. I’m honestly shocked at how little I really knew because all of my mom friends didn’t talk to me about it- they only talked to other moms about it.
Q: Did you breastfeed? If so, how did that go for you? If it was challenging, what were your challenges?
A: Yes I breastfed for 11 weeks- I loved breastfeeding for the bonding it gave to me and my son as well as being able to sustain my baby from my body (that’s just the coolest thing in the world). My baby was quite the cluster feeder so that made it especially daunting from time to time so we did start incorporating formula to “top him off” and also to give me some freedom from always having to be his food source.
Q: Did you have any pregnancy cravings?
A: Sandwiches of any kind… and wraps. I wanted all of the lunch food haha
Q: What’s something you never knew about until you were pregnant?
A: There’s so many things… one major one is just how much of a toll having a child takes on you and how much it IS widely known but not talked about. I never had one person tell me a thing about the emotional rollercoaster before or during pregnancy, but once I had my baby, I had people coming out of the woodworks asking me “how am I doing mentally” and checking on me like that which is soooo nice but also just totally took me by surprise. Having babies really is a superpower.
Q: What was something that surprised you about your postpartum journey?
A: How emotionally complex it is. I never thought I could look at this precious Angel baby and be so thankful and feel so much joy but at the same time have thoughts of mourning my old life prior to him.
Q: If there was a gift to give a new mom, what would it be?
A: Moms on Call book, PostPartum Recovery Kit, Dreamland Baby Sleep Sack, Little Sleepies PJs
Q: If you could give a new mom some advice what would it be?
A: Take it all in- the good, the bad, the in between… let yourself feel all the things and just know that the hard moments get easier, and the sweet moments get even sweeter.