TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Holistic Postpartum Care: Recognizing the Fourth Trimester A1 - Aristizabal, Michelle PY - 2018 T2 - Natural Labor and Birth: An Evidence-Based Guide to the Natural Birth Plan AB - When I got home from the hospital, my wife and I felt like we had been dropped on a desert island. The first few days everyone was really excited to see the baby and brought food and company, but after that initial rush, we were alone. Neither of us had babysat much, so we were awkward even holding the kid for a while. I was afraid all the time. I would just sit up staring at her, so terrified that she would stop breathing in her sleep. I didn’t have enough of a milk supply and after two weeks of crying…usually all of us crying together…we finally caved and just went to formula. I felt like the worst mother on the planet. I couldn’t even figure out how to feed my baby. I wished there was someone who could help, but I didn’t even have the energy to look and, even if I did, I wouldn’t have known where to start. It got better in its own time, I think mainly just from the baby getting older and us gaining some experience, but I think I missed out on something…that sort of new mothering bliss I always imagined I would have. I hardly even remember what my daughter was like as a newborn, I was so stressed and sleep deprived. I was probably a bit depressed too, though I was never diagnosed or anything. I would definitely do a lot of things differently if I knew then what I know now.—E. L., new mother SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/04/18 UR - obgyn.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1155167216 ER -