(Diary) You're Not Invisible
But it's easy to feel that way
Welcome to my diary. These are entires I wrote during my own pregnancy. What you’re about to read is unfiltered, unedited, and perhaps a bit uncanny. But these are my raw feelings written in real-time. Everyone’s perspective and journey is different. This is mine.
Dear friend,
Jen Glantz here.
I just hit the 6-week mark of being a mom.
I feel like I have enough stories about this adventure to fill an entire series of books.
Mostly about lessons learned. Mini mistakes. Moments of feeling like the biggest failure. Other moments when I felt like mom of the year.
It’s all too much to summarize.
Which is why the question of: How is everything?
Can just feel impossible to answer.
Sharing more about why that is below.
Ps. Know someone who would enjoy reading this?
Some quick things I loved this week:
❤️ Products that I fell in love with this week:
I splurged and bought the baby this play gym. It’s a lot of fun and there’s so many things you can do with the mat as the baby grows. Plus, somehow, it fits okay in our tiny 1-bedroom apartment…for now.
A classic book I’ve been reading the baby 3-4x this week.
I bought more of their pumping bras and nipple cream - my favorite postpartum brand so far.
❤️I’ve been spending time spilling my thoughts on TikTok. Watch some of that fun stuff right here!
You’re Not Invisible…But it Might Feel That Way
As a new mom, you can’t help but feel invisible.
Nobody but you sees, feels, or fully understands what you’re going through.
I was walking yesterday and a guy behind me screamed: “Could you walk any slower?”
And I wanted to scream back: “Excuse me sir, but I just had a baby double the size of your head a week ago.”
But how would he know?
I don’t look pregnant.
I don’t have a bumper sticker on my back that says: approach with caution, I’m a new mom.
But sometimes I wish I did.
New moms experience things quietly.
Hormones fluctuating, emotions pounding, physical recovery happening underneath clothing or period pads, your body has gone through so many changes you can’t keep track.
Every single thing in your life is different now. Nothing is the same. And it happened so fast.
It’s hard when people ask you how you’re doing, because there’s no good answer.
Telling them the truth, makes you sound negative. It unloads TMI and they aren’t always prepared for that. They don’t know how to respond to “It’s been a mess” they just know how to respond to “It’s been so beautiful.”
If you’re postpartum, you’re not invisible. You’re just seeing things different right now, and people are making the mistake of seeing you the same.
Take care of yourself, when you can, how you can, and with whomever you can let inside your life right now to help.
I'm a big fan of responding to people with honesty and probably a little more info than they wanted. If you don't actually care how I'm doing, don't ask. Otherwise you're going to get the full answer. This week, my answers involve pink eye because kids are germ factories and don't realize you shouldn't sneeze in mommy's face. I also like to think that by being open about the messy parts, I'm helping future parents feel more comfortable opening up about their struggles. Sometimes life is wonderful and almost magical, but more often it's messy and chaotic and stressful. And all of that is okay.