Rosdaly Ramirez

‼️Trigger warning - postpartum depression ‼️ I remember the first time I called my husband crying asking him to come home from work because I was afraid to be alone with our baby. He had been crying for hours, I was having a lot of scary thoughts and I felt paralyzed. It just so happen that a friend was gonna pass by to bring me food, but I called her to say I wasn’t feeling well and maybe she should come another day. How could I share that I was afraid to be with my baby ? That my thoughts felt clouded and for second I thought… I just want this to end. As a first-time mom, you expect everything to go well. Great birth and healthy baby, but what happens when it doesn’t? I had entered this journey blindsided by the reality that nothing would prepare me for what was to come, no matter how many books or birth stories I heard. And there I was, expecting my firstborn seven weeks early, a premature baby that I couldn’t even take home. Everything that could have gone wrong with him went wrong. My milk was low, he had to get surgery, I didn’t want to leave my house and eventually I went part time at work because I couldn’t keep up emotionally. And my anxiety only got worse, my postpartum depression was a dark cloud over my head. But yet, I smiled. In fact, I tried to cover it up by trying to over achieve motherhood. How could I feel this sad when it should be the “happiest time of my life?” The truth we are never prepared for those dark clouds. Sometimes they show up at first and other times they appear later. But what I want you to know is that you don’t have to be strong, fake it, isolate yourself in it. So many want to walk with you, and I want you to know that even when you have scary thoughts, you’re still a good mom. Seeking support during motherhood makes you no less of a mom. We want to mother you mama. —- If this is you, I see you. 🫂 —- Maternal Mental Health conditions during prenatal and postpartum to know and learn about: - Perinatal depression/ anxiety - The Baby Blues - postpartum anxiety/ depression - Pregnancy and Postpartum OCD - Birth Related PTSD - Postpartum Psychosis — #maternalmentalhealth #postpartum #weare1in5 #postpartumdepression

Prayer: Maternal Mental Month Here are some resources you can look into for therapy: @themotherhoodcenter - in patient and out patient support @postpartumsupportinternational counseling and groups / a lot of resources @sadgirlsclub - chat rooms & therapy scholarship @betterhelp - therapy @talkspace @findoctave @therapyforlatinx @mentalhealthamerica @mentalhealthamerica @expectful —- Mental Heath Care casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter‬ ‭5:7‬ ‭ESV‬‬ Perinatal Team: all safe people to talk to about your mental health OB/ Midwife - Can prescribe medications and provide mental health screenings. Psychiatrist- tracks your medications, side effects and supports you through your transition into and off meds Social worker/ Therapist- provides counseling and tools in order to support your mental health Clinical therapist- provides counseling and also mental health diagnoses Spouse / Partners: emotionally supporting you and also tracking your changes in a notebook, whether on medication or not. You can also do the same. Doula for birth & postpartum - Provide you with emotional and physical support during pregnancy and postpartum ———— Other things you can do to support your mental health: - Creating a birth and postpartum plan - Exercise / yoga/ prayer - Warm meals to calm your nervous system - Sleep - Taking supplements and vitamins, truly recommend holistic brands for postpartum. - Journaling #mentalhealth

Do you feel me ? I think one of the hardest parents about parenting is getting use to time no longer being yours. And yes I know, I’m sure you can get your kids to work around your time and sometimes you should. But I don’t think that’s always the case. The kids wake up very early, not just one, all three. Most mornings my husband and I lay in bed and just embrace each other before getting up. Most days he wakes up early, takes the kids, makes breakfast and I sleep in. Here’s the truth, it doesn’t matter how long it took last night to put them to bed, how many times we got up, who did what yesterday with the kids, every morning we show up as parents and also show up for each other. But some morning we do stay in bed longer just to make sure our relationship is okay. I realize more and more that in order to serve MY kids best, my marriage has to be on the same team. Anyone can be a partner, but not many are your teammate. Share this with a parent 🫶🏽 #parenting #realmarriage #motherhood #parenthood t

I remember being a first time mom and being so anxious about how I was gonna birth. Would I have my baby vaginally or C- section? It the more I talked to others that seemed to be the focus, which felt like there was a “right” way to birth your baby. Though I had a vaginal birth, I gave birth and I felt so overlooked. I was left empty handed, I didn’t have a say on decisions being made during my birth, and I felt powerless. It wasn’t until I was pregnant again and sharing my first birth story that I realized that it didn’t matter how I gave birth, but what did matter is how I felt about my birth. Because heres the truth, there is no right way to birth. You can have a vaginal birth and it feel traumatic and you can have a C- section and feel empowered and heard. Birth is a natural act, it shouldn’t be traumatic. It should be empowering and those surrounding OUR birth should be part of making it feel that way. As I prepared for my second and third baby my focus on birth shifted. I leaned into doula support in order to feel empowered during my births. To believe that I had control over the process of my birth from beginning to end even if it didn’t end the way I wanted to birth. I had my second baby and I remember telling my husband, this is my do over, it was in that birth that I found my voice even when the doctors weren’t listening. And that same voice allowed me to push back on a lot of medical advice I was given during my third pregnancy after I couldn’t have a home birth. This last pregnancy and birth wasn’t anything I planned for. It was full of fear, and unknown, yet i remember hearing my doula ask me what I wanted to do the moment she realized we weren’t gonna make it to the hospital and empowering me into the most beautiful and shocking births I will ever experience. No matter how you choose to give birth, or how you end up birthing, my hope is that you would feel empowered, heard, seen, loved and taken cared of. That’s what matters most! That is what matters most. Tag & share with a mom to be 🤍 Did you feel empowered during your birth? #birth #pregnancydiary #maternalhealth #birthwithoutfear

Family bedtime just got sweeter in our home. Who would have thought someone else’s voice would make the kids’ wind-down so much smoother. Ha! The new Tuck-Ins audio feature from @hatchforsleep allows loved ones to be part of your kiddos night routine even when they’re far away. I love that I can also record my own messages, stories or songs when dad and I are away from them. Okay, now tell me how long it takes you to tuck your kids in? Me: 4 hours @hatchforsleep @hatchforbabysleep #choosesleep #hatchforsleep #hatchforbabysleep #tuckins #ad

“The last ONE”, that theme seemed fit as we celebrated our third baby’s first birthday. We’ve always wanted a big family, and we’ve always said we wanted five. It sounded crazy before we became parents and even more after we actually experienced it for the first time. In the last six years we’ve been parents, we’ve realized that this journey wasn’t what we thought it would be. In some beautiful ways it surpassed what we imagined it to be, and other painful ways it’s left us grieving what we hoped it would have looked like this far along. If you asked us tomorrow if we’re really done we would say “ yes”, but in the same breath we would say “ if I had this_________ , we would do it again”. While at the same time acknowledging that we’ve spent more years being parents than actually being just us two, and even then we would say that our kids didn’t rob us of what could have been of us if we had more years alone together. We would say that though they drew us apart, only to transform our love for the better. We can’t imagine better years of us without them. We’re thankful for this era of surprising pregnancy test, tears of joy and sadness of complicated pregnancies. Tons of sonogram pictures to stare at on the fridge. Births that grew our hearts and left us breathless. Experiencing all the first of baby, while trying to navigate the rebirth of ourselves. There’s so much we’ll miss, but so much we look forward to these next few years. @artbydario thank you for making this era the most beautiful journey I could have ever experienced, from pregnancy to birth you have loved and served me so well. For devoting all of you to them and me even at the dispense of your own dreams. What a gift to parent these last six years with you. We are so blessed by you. 🤍 #thelastone #parenting #lastbaby #motherhood #fatherhood Are you saying goodbye to this pregnancy, birth, baby era ?