Real Women. Real Experiences. – Madelaine
Q: Tell me about yourself. Where are you from? How many kids do you have?
A: Hi! My name is Madelaine and I’m the Founder of the Badass Moms Club! I’m 32 years old and I was born and raised in Fond du Lac, WI but currently reside in St. Louis, Missouri with my husband, DeVonte’, son Maverick and fur baby, Mya.
Q: How was your pregnancy? The good? The bad?
A: Not going to lie – my pregnancy was pretty damn perfect. I absolutely LOVED being pregnant and enjoyed every single step of the way. I never had morning sickness, only food aversion was to eggs and I didn’t have really any “negative” side effects. I did however have COIVD while in my third trimester so that was very scary but thankfully we were ok and started weekly appointments around 28 weeks I believe. I would go in weekly to do an ultrasound to make sure Maverick was moving his arms and legs, that he would move 5 times within the monitoring session and then had to be hooked up to a heartbeat monitor that would also have to track 5 movements by showing a fluctuating heartbeat to show movement. It was very scary TBH but we were so thankful that my doctor was overly cautious. I also think that consistently working out and going to the chiropractor bi weekly and then weekly during the last two months of my pregnancy was a HUGE help and form of relief for my body. It truly made me feel good!
Q: How was your labor and delivery? Did you birth at home? Hospital? C-section?
A: Labor and delivery was how I truly hoped and prayed it would go! It was a Friday night around 7pm I had a shooting pain and told DeVonte’ that I thought I was having a contraction. I didn’t know what it would feel like or what to expect. We had our induction date set up for the following Monday and so I knew that Maverick could literally come at any moment. We continued to make dinner and watch Dateline lol and then around 9pm I started to have more contractions and I immediately jumped in the shower to wash off my self-tanner because I had a feeling this was going to be it, baby was coming soon! After I showered, I started to monitor my contractions and labored at home. Around 11pm we made sure we had everything all by the door to leave at any moment. Once the contractions were about 5 minutes apart, we decided it was best to head to the hospital. After arriving and getting checked in, I was checked and was 7cm dilated! Things were progressing fast, and we were brought up to our birthing room, shit was getting real, ahhhh! After getting hooked up to the monitors contractions were getting very, very intense and I said I was ready for the epidural. Well, my blood pressure was high, and they needed to run blood labs to make sure everything was ok for me to get an epidural. That took foreverrrr but thankfully once I was able to get the epidural things felt so much better and we were able to relax and nap for a few hours to allow Maverick to work his way down. The nurse checked me around 6am and then my water broke during that check. She asked if I wanted to do some practice pushes and I said yes and then we needed to stop because we could see his head and hair! I was able to watch it all with a full-length mirror in front on me – so crazy! The doctor wasn’t even at the hospital yet so the nurses called to tell her I was ready to go! She got there 20 mins later and asked if I’d like to assist with the delivery by pulling him out and I was like “OMG WHAT?! YES! HOW?!” and so she explained how to do it and I was so so so excited! I started pushing at 6:40am and Maverick was safely earthside by 6:45am. Our lives were forever changed in that moment!
Q: Describe your postpartum experience. Did you experience postpartum depression? Postpartum anxiety? Postpartum rage? Were you aware of these things postpartum?
A: I didn’t experience PP depression or rage but did have a few touches of PP anxiety for sure. Am I doing the right thing? What if I’m a bad mom? Am I doing this right? However, I had a few intrusive thoughts such as what if this knife falls on Maverick and stabs his even though he was sleeping safely no where near the dishwasher and then also falling down the stairs was a constant worry. I would have weird scenarios pop into my brain and then it would pass. Never knew that was a thing until I had read about it. I also had bad feelings about my body after and still now, I have days where I don’t give myself grace even though I know I should. I literally grew and birthed a baby and I shouldn’t expect myself to “bounce back” immediately like social media and society portray.
Q: Did you breastfeed? If so, how did that go for you? If it was challenging, what were your challenges?
A: Yes – all has gone great so far. I credit that to asking for help from the lactation consultant at the hospital and I told her to “just do it for me and show me.” So she literally took my boob and showed me what to do and showed me different holding styles to feed. I’m currently 10 months PP and only breastfeeding now once per night. I’m very happy and thankful to be able to have experienced this journey with Maverick.
Q: Did you have any pregnancy cravings?
A: Yes – I craved a few things during different trimesters. Yogurt, cereal, protein pizza and anything sweet. It was so strange to me because I’ve never been a sweets person. If I want a sweet treat it’s usually gummy or sour candies but I was wanting cookies! Crumbl cookie was my craving towards the end of my pregnancy.
Q: What’s something you never knew about until you were pregnant?
A: As cliché as it sounds, I never knew my heart could expand and love someone else this much. I wasn’t fully prepared for the emotions and feelings of pure joy and love for this tiny human. I also didn’t know that your milk can change depending on your babies needs or sickness. The womans body truly is SO amazing!!
Q: What was something that surprised you about your postpartum journey?
A: All the emotions and feelings of joy but feeling overwhelmed. Feeling so lucky to have this bundle of joy but also wanting alone time. It was such a tug of war feeling and the second guessing myself that I was doing the right things. But on the other hand, it’s truly so crazy how you do have a motherly instinct. It’s like a light switch was flipped and I was able to become this new version of myself and it’s been a beautiful and eye opening journey.
Q: If there was a gift to give a new mom, what would it be?
A: Meal delivery service, a giftcard for DoorDash/Uber Eats/Postmates, a few hours to babysit so she can have alone time to sleep, shower or just do whatever she wants.
Q: If you could give a new mom some advice what would it be?
A: Listen to your gut and instinct! Take everyone else’s advice with a grain of salt because at the end of the day, you know your baby and not everything will work for everyone. Every child and needs are different so do what’s best for you! Set boundaries – as hard as that is, just do it. If you don’t want visitors right away, say it. If you don’t want people to come over in groups, say no. YOU are the mom and YOU decide what goes – you’re given a voice so don’t be afraid to use it!!