Real Women. Real Experiences. – Gina C
Q: Tell me about yourself. Where are you from? How many kids do you have?A: My name is Gina. I am originally from Fond du Lac, WI. Moved to Chicago for one year and then Las Vegas for 6 years. Now I am currently in Sheboygan, WI. I have one son who was born December 7th, 2021. I work from home in abortion care/OBGYN. I have 2 cats. I like to spend my money on good food, vacations and experiences.
Q: How was your pregnancy? The good? The bad?
A: My pregnancy was wonderful. I was very lucky to have a smooth and uneventful pregnancy. My mom was the same way with all of hers. No nausea, fatigue or anything. A little constipation towards the end but that was it.
Q: How was your labor and delivery? Did you birth at home? Hospital? C-section?
A: I delivered at Summerlin Hospital in Las Vegas, NV. A beautiful hospital right next to the mountains. I am VERY grateful for my labor and delivery.
Q: Describe your postpartum experience. Did you experience postpartum depression? Postpartum anxiety? Postpartum rage? Were you aware of these things postpartum?
A: My postpartum experience was not great. It actually feels like PTSD when I start to think back on it. I was away from my mom and my family with no one to tell me what to do or help me. I thought I could handle it but I absolutely could not. It really does “take a village”. I was completely sleep deprived and practically hallucinating. Not sleeping or eating for days. I had pretty bad PPD and PPA. I tried Zoloft and I couldn’t even get out of bed when taking that so my doctor told me to stop immediately. I got on Xanax and it helped my anxiety but my PPD did not go away until my baby started sleeping through the night. Sleep deprivation seemed to be a huge cause of that. It was a very scary couple first months. I don’t say this to scare new moms but more just to share my story. I wish someone would have told me this was more common. I had no idea.
Q: Did you breastfeed? If so, how did that go for you? If it was challenging, what were your challenges?
A: I did breastfeed for the first few weeks. It wasn’t necessarily hard for me but I was so exhausted and sleep deprived that my doctor told me to stop and do something quicker and easier for my mental health so we switched to formula and that has been going great ever since. It did help a lot. I would get all worked up and sad if I wasn’t producing what I thought was “enough” milk. Also, pumping is annoying as fuck. I would love to try again with my next child though.
Q: Did you have any pregnancy cravings?
A: Sour! They say that’s how you know it’s a boy but who really knows. I ate sour patch kids almost every night and really craved frozen custard at night after dinner as well.
Q: What’s something you never knew about until you were pregnant?
A: I never thought PPD would affect me since I have never suffered from depression. But it can happen to anyone. I also didn’t know how fast my stomach would go down afterwards. I felt really beautiful after giving birth.
Q: What was something that surprised you about your postpartum journey?
A: I was so surprised at how lack of sleep can correlate with depression and cause you to not have an appetite.
Q: If there was a gift to give a new mom, what would it be?
A: Honestly, a night nanny. Some women find those late night moments precious, but I really hated it. Was not for me.
Q: If you could give a new mom some advice what would it be?
A: ASK FOR HELP WHEN YOU NEED IT. You are not any less of a mom because you need help OR because you’re on medication. Moms are incredible, end of story.