The gorgeous Stephanie Good, Daniel (3) and Charlie (9 months)
A few months after Daniel was born, Stephanie realized that she was having mood swings and fighting anxiety. She was doing everything she could to deny that she was struggling with postpartum depression but knew deep down what was happening. Her family has a history of mental illness and she'd always known she had depression but was able to manage it mostly with diet and exercise. Stephanie finally asked her husband what he thought and decided to seek out a therapist. Therapy and a low dose of Zoloft was exactly what she needed to begin feeling like herself again. Stephanie was able to go off of medication for while but chose to begin taking it again once Charlie was born.
Stephanie's first pregnancy was a surprise but she says that mother is what she was always meant to be. Her entire life she felt like she was floating around and it now feels she has such purpose. Her pregnancy with Daniel went well and while her birth experience wasn't what she'd expected it all turned out in the end. Stephanie's husband was sick with food poisoning, or so they thought, until she became sick and they realized it was the stomach flu. She ended up in the hospital for severe dehydration and once she was discharged back home, her water broke soon after. She was 40 weeks but doesn't think that Daniel was quite ready yet as it was likely her water broke because she'd been so ill. Once at the hospital, they really wanted to induce and discussed delivering surgically but she was able to find support in a doctor they were connected to through her husbands boss. Stephanie was very vocal about wanting to deliver vaginally and with the help of an epidural she was able to do just that.
Charlie's pregnancy also went well and Stephanie says that his birth was much more in line with what she'd hoped for. She delivered in hospital again with an epidural but things progressed much more consistently and there wasn't the sense of urgency there'd been with Daniel. Breastfeeding has been difficult for the first few weeks with each of the boys and she experienced clogged ducts and mastitis. However, after nursing Daniel for a year she knew that things would work out well with Charlie.
Stephanie has always had a mixed relationship with her body, loving things about it and simultaneously struggling. She is constantly striving to appreciate it more and she's hoping to continue upon that journey through the lens of motherhood and all the changes it has brought - physically, emotionally and experientially.