“I was kind of losing my mind.”
Having a baby is a wonderful, incredible, terrifying, uplifting thing that no amount of advice or ‘helpful’ books can prepare you for. One new mum, Danielle Haines, took to Facebook to share a photo of herself and her newborn, three days postpartum. The message she wrote alongside the image is a powerful reminder to anyone going through something similar: You are not alone.
This is a picture of me 3 days postpartum.
I was so raw and so open, I was a fucking mess.
I loved my baby, I missed his daddy (he went back to work that day), I was mad at my mum, my heart hurt for my brother because my mom left us and now I had a little boy that looked like him, my nipples were cracked and bleeding, my milk was almost in, my baby was getting really hungry, I was feeling sad that people kill babies, like on purpose, I had not slept since I went into labor, I didn’t know how to put my boobs away, my vagina was sore from sitting on it while nursing constantly, I was kind of losing my mind.
Katie came over and feed me the morning this picture was taken. She might have even stopped over to feed me lunch. Then one of my seven sisters came that evening to bring the family dinner, Sarah. Sarah took this picture of me. She walked in with food and said, “Hi! How are you!?” I said, “I’m a mess.” We talked, she listened, she said, “I’ve been right where you are.” It helped to know she went crazy once, too.
Then she said, “I know this might sound crazy but do you have a camera? You look so raw and so beautiful.”
I’m so glad she took this picture.
She was just planning to drop off food. She ended up staying for much longer. I needed her. She knew it. I called Rachel, I needed her. I needed her to nurse my baby, I needed more help with his latch. I called Shell. I needed her to tell me my baby was okay. This is real PP, mamas.
I had a magical Postpartum. It wasn’t easy but I was so supported and fed and reminded that the mothers before me had been through this part of motherhood, and that I’d get through it just fine too.
Click through the gallery below for a realistic look at the first day of motherhood by Jenny Lewis.
Top Comments
You were so fortunate to have all those lovely sisters to support you at a difficult but lovely time. My thoughts and best wishes go out to all those new mums that don't have any support at all and struggle through regardless.
there is nothing really different about that picture to what I have seen. Even a woman with makeup on you can still see the rawness, fear, love and anxiety in their face. My first photo was post c-section, you would not have known that I was as sick as a dog, overwhelmed and wanting so much for people to piss off. My 3 days photo pp was similar, my nips were cracked, I was tired and I was emotional. Everyone is so different and these "what x-y-z really looks like" are really just reverse crap... why cant a woman look okay... sure she might be falling apart underneath buthave you ever thought that this is a way for her to feel okay. there is nothing less real about these women. its the same as what "real" tummies look like. I had read it all then looked at my pp tummy and went "huh... i am going to be bullied like kate middleton... awesome". be careful of perceptions of real...shitty looking or polished.