Three days after giving birth - one mum's raw and emotional post
Missing her husband, loving her baby, mad at her mum, and sleep deprived, Danielle Haines recalls the overwhelming emotions of postpartum and how her friends came to her rescue
Cradling her newborn baby with her eyes full of tears and her nipples bleeding, the last thing Danielle Haines wanted was a camera pointed at her face. But the mum-of-1 is now glad her friend was moved to take this picture just three days after she gave birth to her son.
Looking at the photo, Danielle was then moved to post it on her Facebook page with an incredible account of how she felt at that moment. It's a very honest account of what postpartum can be like:
"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 mom, 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 labour, I didn't know how to put my boobs away, my vagina was sore from sitting on it while nursing constantly, I was kinda losing my mind.
"Katie came over and fed me the morning this picture was taken. She might have even stopped over to feed me lunch. Then one of my 7 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."
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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 ok. This is real PP [Postpartum] mamas. Those of you who have done it before....will you share what your immediate PP felt like?
"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."
We think Danielle's message is amazing and incredibly powerful - and an important one to share, even though everyone's experiences are different. What do you think?
Photo: Facebook / Danielle Haines
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