She was from a broken family. All she could remember from her childhood were ugly fights between her parents that would usually begin while she was asleep. Waking up to her dad’s loud cursing out and her mum’s even louder.
Yelling almost every single night was too much to handle for an eight year old. She started showing symptoms of PTSD. Having nightmares and feeling jumpy became the new normal for her. Life wasn’t easy for her and with all this, it’s become tougher. She had to take decision. And then the day came when she.
Had to bid farewell to her dad. Her school, her friends, her home, her city. She had to move in with her sweet grandma, who knit her sweaters and made her her favorite banana bread, whose sweetness would temporarily lessen the bitterness in her life. While her mum was too busy hanging. Out with her stepdad, she grew up.
To be someone with immense trust issues. All efforts made by her grandma to make her believe in the goodness of relationship and life itself seemed to have failed miserably. But eventually those efforts brought results, and. With her grandma’s love and kindness, she started to regain her confidence. She was able to get good grades. Made some new friends, and started to feel the life again. Soon after she graduated, she started working.
As a consulting firm. That’s where she met Andrew, someone she thought she could count on as a colleague. Soon this colleague became her strongest support when she had to spend most of her time at the hospital beside her ailing grandma. As her grandma recovered, so did her trust in humanity. With Andrew by her side, she decided to give life one chance and said yes to Andrew’s marriage proposal.
Life has its own way of revealing its gifts and secrets. Now it was her turn to receive the biggest gift this universe has to offer. She was expecting her first baby. She had read somewhere before heal before having children so your children don’t have to heal from having you as a parent. Recalling her traumatic childhood, she promised herself. That she’ll give her a baby.
A childhood that she never got, a home that feels safe and happy, parents that a child looks up to. Fortunately, Andrew had a similar vision for his family, so both of them started preparing merrily for the dream life they’d planned together for their baby. From carefully designing each corner of the baby’s room to discussing parenting styles and the kids preschool education, they were intricately planning each and everything.
Little did they know that sometimes, no matter how intricate the plan is, nature surprises us. The problem began when her long lost childhood trauma began to show up in the form of multiple psychological and emotional disorders. Both Emma and Andrew were stunned as it was nowhere in their distant thoughts. While it was difficult for Andrew to provide the best care and emotional support for his beloved wife. It was equally challenging to give his best at work, so his financial position remains stable in such challenging times. As for Emma, she had to deal.
With the whole nightmare herself and things became worse when the doctor told her that her volatile mental state can have an adverse impact on her baby’s development. She was terrified. The thought made her even more anxious and this vicious cycle ended up in terrible insomnia for both her and Andrew. They say bad times don’t last forever, but to Emma and Andrew, each passing day felt like an eternity of struggle.
For Andrew, the struggle was to keep. His own sanity in check while providing for Emma both emotionally and financially. And for Emma, it was to fight.
With her mental illnesses and keeping the faith alive that her baby would be healthy and she would surely get to live all her dreams of a healthy, safe and joyful home for her baby and Andrew. As they say, every cloud has a silver lining. The best thing that came out of such worrying time was the clarity with which the desire to stay together and steer through the phase together could be seen.
The hope to have a better healthier. Happier shared tomorrow was something that kept them going every single day. Their bond as parents to be became stronger than ever. It was a usual day. Andrew was at work and Emma was busy finalizing the checklist for her hospital. Bag for baby’s delivery that was scheduled.
For the next week. Suddenly she felt her head spinning and she knew something wasn’t right. Just before passing out, she managed to use speed dial and call Andrew, who rushed home and took unconscious Emma to the hospital. After a while she was back in her senses and the doctors congratulated Andrew as things could have been way worse had she not regained her consciousness.
They spent the night at the hospital and around three in the morning she felt sharp pain and the doctors rushed her to the labor room. Andrew accompanied her. All the nightmares, fears, worrisome thoughts and flashbacks from her childhood started playing like a reel in front of her eyes and she screamed in horror and despair of what the next moment might be like.
Her eyes had swollen, her throat dry, her body fatigued exhausted. One thing that was galloping was in her mind, fooling her into fake scenarios. Finally, she took a deep breath and decided to take control of her mind for her baby’s sake and tried to calm herself down. Deep breathing did the trick this time, and after a while the walls of the labor room heard a shrill cry of a newborn mixed with Emma scream.
They say the first moments of your newborn are magic. It was nothing less than that. The first few moments were filled with tears, laughter, disbelief, gratitude and whatnot both Emma and Andrew were over the moon to see the little angel they brought to this world. After what seemed like an eternity of despair.
This was an almost overwhelming sense of love and affection, along with a strong desire to care for and protect the little angel. Emma couldn’t stop screaming while looking at her precious bundle of joy. She was the most beautiful baby Emma had ever seen, the epitome of hope and light in her life. She was the answer to her prayers, a dream come true.
She was the prize of her resilience. She held Alice finger tightly as if assuring her mommy that she’ll never leave her side and make up for all the bad times she’d ever faced. Andrew, despite considering himself a tough man, cried like a baby. He was proud of himself for not giving up on their relationship or Emma, and this is what gave him his most prized possession forever. His daughter, Elena. Indeed, she was delighted.
The doctors took the baby for initial assessment, and Andrew accompanied his precious newborn daughter to assessment room, leaving Emma wandering all over again. By the time they brought the baby back, now clothed, Emma had already burst into tears overthinking fake scenarios about the baby’s health. She was relieved to know that the baby was perfectly healthy and weighed better than most babies.
Some moments redefine your existence. Elena’s birth was undoubtedly one of those moments for both Emma and Andrew, where they felt that all they had gone through in the past months was worth it. That little shrill cry changed everything forever. Elena made them loving parents, changing their priorities instantly.
This was the time for another promise, a promise every parent should prioritize, making a promise to make the best decision for Elena. No matter what happens, life changes in uncertain ways. People change. Priorities change. No one can guarantee you save tomorrow. But once you become a parent, you’re given a responsibility to nurture a young heart and soul in the best way possible, and instill love and compassion.
In their clean slate like minds, Emma and Andrew promised one another that if things don’t go their way or they have any conflicts in the future, they’ll sort it out before things get out of their hands. They won’t ever make it ugly. If they decide to stay together, it. Will be for Elena’s good. If they decide to part ways, it. Will again be for Elena’s good. They’ll never let their daughter pass through hell.
If their relationship is ever going through turmoil, they’ll make sure to give her a life that lets her enjoy the basic pleasures of human connection, like trust, love, and respect. They’ll raise her to be someone who is emotionally and psychologically healthy and stable. They’ll raise her to be a productive.
Human for society and herself. Having one’s first baby is the most rewarding yet daunting experience of a woman’s life. Just like many women, Emma also focused on learning as much as she could about pregnancy and the birthing process, but bringing baby Elena home from the hospital and the adjustments that followed were just as life changing.
Each new mother’s experience is as unique as the life she’s brought into the world and had come to a conclusion that no matter how many books you. Read, blogs you follow, or videos you watch.
Watch, nothing can truly prepare you for being a first time mum. It was scary and exciting at the same time. Andrew and Emma considered themselves parents who had prepared as much as humanly possible before Elena’s birth, however, there was still plenty of unknown as they brought baby Elena home.
It’s known fact that the postpartum comes with its due share of depression and other mental health issues that aggravates with all those sleepless nights and routine changes. Emma’s case was no different. Baby Elena was a good sleeper, but Emma would forever lie awake wondering if her child is still breathing. She’d sit up on the couch holding her daughter every night for almost two. Weeks with a built up pillow for.
It around her so her arms weren’t going anywhere and neither was Elena. While it was exhausting, so was it new and exciting. She just held her and stared at her all the time. As time passed, Emma started loving the bond with her baby.
Baby Elena was the best thing that ever happened to her. Andrew’s dreams of a perfect little family had come true. Elena was soon to be admitted to a preschool and both Emma and Andrew. Were very excited about this new phase.