Maybe you are a parent who has endured loss. Maybe that loss is the death of a baby, or it’s a struggle to conceive.
In darkness, you might have thought:
“I’d be a much better parent than her…”
And somehow, this quiet boastfulness only festered your grief.
Jealousy immediately followed.
Maybe even, a bit of entitlement. Anger.
Somehow and somewhere in your journey, though, you are now a parent to a living child.
And, it’s not as easy as you thought.
You might be sleep deprived.
You might be fearful that your child isn’t bonding very well with you.
You might be dreading that your baby isn’t behaving like you thought, or that you aren’t responding with the endless amounts of affection, attention and adoration you imagined having.
Maybe you’ve lost your patience.
Maybe guilt followed.
Maybe shame began to sink in, and sink your spirits.
Parenting – whether through mourning, or through rearing, flat is not easy.
And, you are not alone.
You are invited to share your rearing challenges and joys in our Holding Umbrellas collection. Just use our sharing tab to write your story.
Related: the SBD growing collection of “subsequent” pregnancy, birth and rearing resources and our Still Parenting journal project.
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