Lonely is the first word that comes to mind, even though I had a supportive partner and family, I still felt very isolated as a first time and second time mother. The sleepless nights and long days have such an impact on my mental health. I remember the ups and downs of delivery. Feeling so…

When my husband and I welcomed our first child in 2019, we quickly noticed something different about the upper right side of her lip. After expressing our concern, we were referred to a craniofacial plastic surgeon who met with us and diagnosed our daughter with a microform cleft lip.  The diagnosis was a surprise to…

I gave birth to my second baby, my son in spring 2023. Life with two littles has been so much harder than when we welcomed our daughter in 2020, even with the challenges of the beginning of a pandemic.  With my son, after a few excited days at home from the hospital, I started experiencing…

When I think about perinatal mental health, I think about my journey of becoming a mom while having a mental illness and going through grief. When I think about my perinatal period, part of me feels exhausted and sad about what I went through and what lies ahead. However, while I now look down at…

When I try to sum up the whole process of conception, pregnancy to motherhood, the most realistic word that comes to mind is rebirth. It’s what separates us from our old self and our new one. There is nothing like it and no real way to describe it that would be impactful or raw for…

My journey to becoming a mom was far from a straightforward one. It was long and filled with many hurdles.  It took my husband and I nearly six years to become parents. We first tried on our own and eventually sought out help from a fertility clinic. After lots of testing, some medications and a…

On August 6 2021, I had a miscarriage. It was my first pregnancy and I was 13 weeks. My first  ultrasound was scheduled for the following Monday, and we were just getting ready to tell all of  our friends. I remember I was working that day, and when I went to the washroom and saw …

She was two months old and I was still calling her “the baby.” I actually remember how weird it felt the first time I called her “my daughter,” both because of the newness of the sound and because of the surprise I felt realizing it was the first time I had referred to her as…

I have two teenage daughters, and as a mother with introverted tendencies, I still remember intense feelings of exhaustion, overwhelm, and frustration of trying to raise two amazing little humans.  I felt suicidal at times. I checked out. I threw myself into my business to cope. It’s taken me years to forgive myself. There’s so…

We waited to grow our family. Checked off all our pre-kids to-dos, found stability in anxiety management, and planned as much as possible. Finally, after seven years of marriage, we were expecting our first child. It was an absolute dream come true. Pregnancy was near perfect on paper. Routine appointments, excited friends and family, and…