Accepting Our Imperfections as First-Time Moms
Our Senior Placement Manager Kimberly Tobin just returned to the office last month after having her baby. Therefore, we thought it was the perfect time to have her speak about her transition into motherhood, as many of you can relate.
“Being pregnant with my first baby was a dream come true!! Overall my pregnancy was picture perfect – no morning sickness or crazy cravings. The biggest disruption was growing out of my clothes and accepting the changes my body was going through. However, this “ideal” pregnancy came to a halt at my 37-week appointment. My blood pressure was high and my doctor scheduled an induction 4 days later! My vision of birth was my water breaking in Target or HEB and having to call my husband and run home for the hospital bag – you know, very dramatic and movie-like. The thought of a scheduled induction was just not on my radar.
I’ll spare you the details of the birth – nothing exciting or dramatic. My perfect bundle of cuteness and built-in best friend and I met on October 11 – Hartley!. I was, and am, in utter disbelief that I get to be her Mom!! I’ve always wanted to be a Mom and felt certain I would be great at it, but I wasn’t prepared for the big postpartum emotions!
After coming home from the hospital and beginning my recovery, I found that I was struggling with ‘Baby Blues’. While I was happy to have Hartley on the outside, I desperately missed her being in my belly. In a selfish way, I struggled to share her with family and friends. After all, it had just been she and I for the last 8 months. I couldn’t help but feel like I was robbed of those last 3 weeks of pregnancy. I kept saying “She isn’t supposed to be here yet” for the first few weeks after her birth. I’m a firm believer that 2 things can be true at the same time:
- I was over the moon in love with my new baby
- I was very sad to not be pregnant any longer
These were emotions I was not prepared for or expecting. I had heard of postpartum depression, but never thought I would go through the sadness I felt.
I share this because I want to normalize that not every pregnancy/birth story unfolds the way we imagine, and there should be no shame in having an experience like mine, or many other iterations. There can be mixed emotions around the experience, but eventually, you will not be able to envision life without your little bundle. I am grateful that I took a lot of pictures, and was able to talk about my emotions to people close to me.
After 12 years of working with Mom’s Best Friend, I now feel closer than ever to our clients who are first-time moms. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if I can support you in any way.”
-Kimberly Tobin, kimberly.tobin@mbfagency.com, 512-381-3146, Schedule a call with me