I'll be hosting a live chat tomorrow at 1 p.m. EST with Katherine Stone of Post Partum Progress (the number PPD blog!) and Dr. Shoshanna Bennett at The Motherhood.com. Join us and several others in a lively and supportive discussion about any PPD related issues and other mental illnesses that occur around pregnancy and childbirth. Please come join in! What is The Motherhood? It is a great place for women and mothers that is organized around Circles and Talks based on the idea that we are all "in this together", which is exactly how I feel about PPD. Circles are on-going conversations started by members on any and all topics. Join the circles that interest you, and if you don’t see what you’re looking for, start one! Talks are scheduled, live conversations that last a day with expert … [Read more...]
Search Results for: ppd
Colorful Affirmations for Mom
Mother's Day is just around the corner and with it I couldn't resist sharing this set of colorful affirmations for mom coloring pages from creator Sarah Renae Clark, a Melbourne based mother to a little 11 month old boy. They had a difficult start and Sarah ended up dealing with postnatal depression (PPD) on and off in the first few months. I can relate. Twice. She found that during that time, one of the biggest things that got her through was being creative again. Sarah started drawing and creating coloring books to help herself on the hard days, but the books she created have now been able to help other mothers too. I love to color and I love this idea! She even created a coloring page for me. Now TMC readers can get 15% off her entire digital store until 6/30/16 (It … [Read more...]
Skin Deep
It's Monday. Spring break has come and gone and the weather finally seems to have turned the corner. Can I get an Amen?! How about a dose of sobering reality? No filter. No touch ups. Pre-workout photo from last week. In my in-need-of-a-makeover office. How about this one? I was totally going to make my annual skin screening at my dermatologist, I swear. Another mole was not playing nice. Except I just kept putting it off with lots of excuses. It's a long drive, it sucks up work time and I can't find a sitter. Blah, blah, blah. All excuses. All the time. Then the triple threat, as I am now calling it, appeared. It doesn't look so bad in the photo, except that it was. SO BAD. It was painful, large and two days before so swollen I looked like I … [Read more...]
Dealing with Postpartum Depression Guilt
Sometimes I look over at TD, my oldest child of the three girls and I feel a deep, internal pain. Like someone has sliced my heart in two and I'm left grasping at wispy pieces that have floated into the ether to a place I can never have back. … [Read more...]
Best of TMC
Post Partum Depression My posts on my two-time battle and survival with Post Partum Depression Work with Katherine Stone from Post Partum Progress A Woman Walks Into A Shrinks Office Marriage Words (the breakdown of a marriage) Huzzah! Marriage Counseling for Everyone! Marriage Can Be Fucking Hard Marriage Can Be Fucking Hard Part II Parenting (adventures in parenting, motherhood and raising girls) Losing Hair & the Mirena More Mirena Running (Maybe I can, like, inspire you and stuff) Dig/Don't Dig (Video product reviews. It's time to get real y'all.) … [Read more...]
Strong Start Day
Did you know that October 5 is big baby day? Not like ginormica babies, but the day that more babies are born than any other. Kate Winslet was born today and so was my cousin, Marcia. That's a lot of people getting busy while welcoming in the new year, every year. Heh. It's also Strong Start Day.With all that in mind there will be many women giving birth today. Days, weeks or months from now they may enter into a truly dark, hard part in their lives known as Postpartum Depression. It won't be just them that deals with symptoms and fallout of PPD but their children and significant others as well. They all deserve a strong start. I know for me, both my bouts with PPD caused a massive strain on our marriage. It came with me to work, made me feel homicidal at times, want … [Read more...]
A D-MER Survivor Speaks
I don't often venture into the arena of breast-feeding. It's a twisted, hugely opinionated topic that has many pieces to it. To me the topic itself is a largely personal issue that I don't think can be labeled as just either "Feeders" and "Non-Feeders". I have nursed all three of my children, but differently each time and for differing reasons with each child as well. It's like those ubiquitous Facebook descriptions for a wide array of relationship statuses that can only be labeled as, "It's Complicated". I don't like to openly go on and on on regarding my feelings towards breast-feeding precisely for these reasons- it's complicated and personal for each and every mother/child combination. I don't expect anyone else to agree or understand the … [Read more...]
Words Opened Doors
Someone said to me recently, "You have to start being really careful about what you put on Facebook." And no, it wasn't my mother that said this. When I asked what this person was talking about it all had to do with Words. Of course.Except, here is the thing, Facebook picks up my blog. Words was picked up and posted there just like all the others. I'm fine with that. H is fine with that. Yes, it was deeply personal but anyone that knows me also knows that being deeply personal is pretty much what I am all about. I've talked about the raw, dark deal that Post Partum Depression is- twice. I've written about domestic violence and its personal ties to me. So there's that.Since Words, things have changed in our house. That post opened … [Read more...]
The Wonders of Sleep
I'm nice right now. And um, still a teensy bit brain dead. I have good days and bad days and in the past two weeks more bad than good. When I realized this my little PPD nerve center went on alert and I found myself standing in the middle of a room wondering if this was the other shoe dropping. Was postpartum depression going to hit me again a third time? The very thought of it made me weepy. Then angry. Then yup, you guessed it. Weepy again.I wanted to crawl under the covers and hibernate. I felt twitchy and snappy evil. My eyes may or may not have glowed red once or twice. I wanted to talk to someone, anyone about this, but then no one at all. Call it a case of being sick of dealing with this type of shit. The third … [Read more...]
That Whole Depression Thing
"So how is that whole depression thing going?" H asked this question a few weeks back regarding my past bouts with postpartum depression. Let's not quibble on his delivery of that line. Moving on... The Fifth Element has reached the six-week mark and I'm happy to report so far so good. Except. Well, except the fact that in the past PPD hasn't nailed me against its dark, stained wall until about the two month mark. With TD it was shortly after I went back to work and she was eight weeks old. The schedule, the commute, the lack of sleep all contributed to it. I thought I missed it with The Comedian and then month two came up and BAM! There I was again back in its black hole. Blech. As I said last week on TheMotherhood's postpartum discussion, I am waiting for the other shoe to … [Read more...]