Postpartum depression awareness month

Did you know that postpartum depression can happen any time in the first year after giving birth? Did you also know that there are different levels? Some experience something milk that many have referred to the baby blues. Then there is postpartum depression and in extreme cases they call it postpartum psychosis. Sadly that's the kind you hear about mostly in the news. There is this stigma of PPD  that has to stop. Mothers should be shamed for experiencing this medical condition. Too many moms fear seeking help because of it. It happens to more moms than you know. 

I was one of them. With the birth of my first rainbow I went through so much emotionally at that time. I had just hit the first year after losing Genesis. I was an unexpected single mom after my then husband left me while pregnant. I had lost my job and no one wanted to hire a pregnant lady. I had hit rock bottom. I thought about bringing it up to my doctor but I was so embarrassed. The day after I gave birth I couldn't stop crying. I didn't even know why. I thought it was tears of joy. And some of it was, but I was also sad. I attributed it to still mourning Genesis. This was the first time I was able to bring a baby home from the hospital so I had no idea what was normal or not. As the weeks progressed I got these disturbing thoughts pop into my head. Even now I'm embarrassed to even say what they were. I knew what I was thinking was crazy and not normal and I pushed those thoughts out of my head and kept myself busy. By about 3 months postpartum it went away on its own. Some women aren't as lucky. Looking back I shouldn't have left something so serious to chance. Some women need medication and even more. Do not suffer in silence. You are not alone. Speak up. Get help. Do not be ashamed. Feel free to share your story too. 

Pumping tip

New mama pumping tip: 

When sharing tips with new breastfeeding moms I've come across so many moms that don't really know how to use their breast pump to its full potential. You'll see that when you first turn your pump on, the speed of the suction is fast. This simulates the baby's suckling that triggers a let down. What is a let down? It's when your breast lets down a stream of milk. This is when the most milk is expressed. If your breastfeeding baby directly on the breast this is when you hear baby gulping and swallowing. Once the pump passes the fast phase it will slow down to express the most amount of milk. At this point your let down may continue for a few minutes and eventually stop. Many women think that all the milk has been removed and stopped pumping at this point. Nope. Your breast has more milk in its reserves. Push the button on your pump with the drops and it will turn on another phase of the fast pumping. Again, after the fast pumping, slow will follow. This is so that you can trigger a second let down to express the most milk possible. Some have even been able to get a third, forth and even up to a fifth let down. So don't stop pumping after the first round, keep going. Also keep in mind no matter how many rounds you do, a pump will. Ever express as much milk as a baby does. The most effective way of removing all the milk from your breasts is to feed baby directly from the breast. 

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