Dr Rebecca Bloore's Postpartum Experience

What was the hardest part of your postpartum journey? 

The hardest part of my journey after motherhood was breastfeeding and the lack of energy I have. Breastfeeding took a lot out of me but my little girl really didn’t want to stop so we carried on. The other really hard part would be the amount of time I lost for myself. I used to enjoy putting make up on in the morning but I’m not a morning person so it rarely happens anymore 😂. In terms of the hardest time it was probably when the maternity pay stops and you need to ramp up work again, around 9 months for me as I accepted my mat pay later. Stepping out of the sleepless nights you feel great but then transitioning to chasing around a toddler was really challenging. I found after she was 10 months things got a lot harder. 

What do you wish you knew going into postpartum life? 

I always thought it would be challenging for me. Especially the baby side, I’m not a great cook (I really don’t enjoy cooking) and I LOVE my job so I knew that I would be juggling as a new mother, especially as my partner wanted to wait before daycare. I wish I knew how challenging breastfeeding in terms of energy would be and additionally I wish I knew it wasn’t sleep deprivation like not sleeping, more disturbed sleep. 

What is your favourite part of motherhood? 

When she smiles at me and dances. She lights up the entire room. 

What do you wish you knew going into motherhood? 

That the judgment would be high. I’m normally very thick skinned when it comes to judgment but when you have a child it is quite intense. Everyone has a different way of parenting and people will project their own parenting onto you even if they don’t mean to. Also my parents started parenting me again 😂 which I wasn’t prepared for. It’s also not as simple as ‘making sure you have time for yourself’ because you prioritise what is most important to you and there is only a limited amount of time in a day. 

Can you describe your postpartum body in 2 words? 

The same 💛

(Ask me after my second 🤣)

Can you describe your experience of motherhood in 2 words? 

Never ending 😅

Becoming a mother was very different to what I expected. I thought it would be hard but I found the energy zapping a lot harder than I could imagine. It does also isolate you from friends as you are limited to do the things you did before. I really enjoyed eating out in fancy places and although we can still do that, it’s unfair on her really so we don’t do it very often. Restaurants are far too boring for a 2 year old. 

Thank you for sharing this Dr. Rebecca. We love how you felt 'the same' postpartum and know that your experience will give some women hope that they can feel like themselves in their own postpartum journeys. In the face of so many unsolicited comments about our bodies, we love that this was your experience. We also want to thank you for the work you do in our community through your business as a Positive Psychology Consultant - you have an enormous impact.