The amazing Katie Tessitore with her daughter Ava (14 months). Katie had a wonderful pregnancy and enjoyed her body throughout. When she began to feel her daughter move, she loved it even more. At around 35 weeks, Katie developed Bell's Palsy on her face, and it very much changed her outlook and experience. No doctor could explain what was happening or why. She suddenly felt like a monster and isolated herself. She said she felt like there was suddenly a dark shadow over her perfect pregnancy. Her labor and delivery was about 66 hours total. She labored naturally for 50+ hours before getting an epidural which wasn't part of her plan. She had planned to breastfeed but was very much struggling emotionally during her postpartum period and something needed to go. After 3 weeks, she decided to stop breastfeeding directly and instead pumped exclusively for her daughter's first 11 months. Katie ultimately sought the help of a therapist to help determine that in trying to avoid her pain, she was also numbing her joy. A few weeks after Ava was born, Katie's Bell's Palsy started to get better, and she's worked to find her joy and happiness again.