Saturday, April 27, 2013

Posted by Unknown On 9:17 PM

Postpartum depression has consumed too much of my life. It nearly prevented me from bonding with my son. Some of my relationships with close friends have been strained. Today I have decided to take my life back. For one I’m going to make amends with the people who I have lost touch with.
I’m also in the process of making a schedule that consist of a longer nighttime routine so me and my son can have some serious one on one time.
To do list
  1. Write apology letter to mom for being emotionally draining. Assure her I’m taking better care of myself and let her know things will be smoother.
  2. Pay my sister for watching the baby
  3. Set up a girls night for the people I have been neglecting.
  4. Write apology letter/love letter to boyfriend
  5. Buy Taliyah Gift
  6. Start baby schedule
  7. Finish baby schedule
I could continue to feel sorry for myself and throw myself another pity party. I could get mad at my loved ones for not being more understanding, but I like this route much better.  No more pity parties!
Also I have been under so much stress lately and today was just such a big release for me. Some of you have been unfortunate enough to never have to collect unemployment. Let me explain to you how this works.
Every week they give you a certain amount. Your employer can try to contest your unemployment claim. The unemployment office pays you before your employer even has a chance to contest the claim. So that means you will be getting benefits for about two to three weeks before a decision is even made.  If your employer wins you have to pay the money back. If you win your employer gets a second chance to appeal your claim. This time a hearing is done by telephone and you will have received benefits for a couple of months.
 I had been collecting unemployment for about 11 weeks when I got a letter in the mail saying my job was appealing my benefits and if they won the appeal I would have to pay back all that money I had received.
What kind of organization gives you compensation before it has been awarded to you? This was frustrating and stressful. My previous employer wrote very nasty things about me, they sent the unemployment office every write up I had ever gotten. I knew for sure I’d lose the case and I would have to pay back a couple thousand dollars.
Well I prayed and fasted once a week about the situation. A hearing was done by telephone. My previous employer told vicious lies about me and they even hired a third party agency to represent them. I had no representation and no proof that I had been wrongfully terminated. While employed I received several awards but I stupidly through them in the garbage. Things just didn’t look too good for me.
Today I received a letter in the mail saying I won the hearing. I feel as if a heavy burden has been lifted off my shoulders.


Friday, April 26, 2013

Posted by Unknown On 4:48 PM

I was just beginning to think my Post Partum Depression was going away, and then I bumped into a really rough couple of weeks. Things between Nick and I got really bad to the point that if was affecting each other’s families.

My mom pulled me to the side and told me I was really really getting on her nerves with the emotional outbursts. At first I was really offended and thought her comments were insensitive and unnecessary. But maybe my crying in the middle of the night is keeping every one up. And maybe my moping around the house is starting to bother everyone.

Maybe I have been emotionally draining to everyone around me.

I decided to take the Zoloft. It’s been a week and I’m very happy.  I hope that in six months I can come off the meds. Until then I have to be considerate of everyone around me. I feel really bad for what I have put my loved ones through. I think I’m going to write apology letters this week.

My son started crawling this week. I thought that once he became a bit mobile he would stop being so clingy. It’s actually getting worse. This too shall pass. Hopefully.  


Saturday, April 20, 2013

Posted by Unknown On 4:09 PM
Last month I attended a field trip with Taliyah, Nicks beautiful daughter at the zoo. It was a blast.












Friday, March 8, 2013

Posted by Unknown On 12:02 PM
As a new mom I had these negative feelings all the time. When I spoke with other moms I realized I wasn't alone.

1. I do the majority of the work.

I couldn't help but feel this way all the time. At night the baby would wake up crying several times a night. Sometimes it was every two hours. Nick Sr. would sleep right through it all or pretend to be asleep.  A couple of nights Nick got so frustrated he slept on the conch while I had to rock a screaming baby all night long.

I even got a picture of him trying to change the baby’s diaper. Look at this awkward position lol.



2. Nick Sr. gets to have all the fun.

If Nick wants to go out somewhere, he just goes.  I have to plan my schedule around the baby and make special accommodations. I thought this just happened to me because we didn't live together. But I have a couple of married friends who felt the same way about their husband.  If I’m even ten minutes late getting the baby or I’m taking too long to run an errand, Nick will blow my phone up.

3. If it weren't for the baby Nick and I would not be together.

This was the biggest thing for me. All those selfish behaviors Nick demonstrated towards me made me not want to be with Nick Sr. At first I thought all men were like this until Nick and I broke up- briefly. During this time I was socializing with another guy that I worked with. He was a very big assistance to me. I couldn't get my baby to stop crying and he told me take my baby to different doctors until I found out what was wrong with him. My baby had a ear infection that another doctor missed.

 I would go to work with huge bags under my eyes. He (Not saying any names) would often ask to baby sit for me so that I could get some sleep. I never did take him up on his offer. He was really experienced with babies because he had a baby brother. He gave me a lot of useful tips on setting up a routine for getting the baby to sleep. 

Well because of him I have much higher standards for Nick Sr.

I am very old school in my belief that if I have a baby by someone, I am going to try to work things out with that person. I stopped talking to the guy at my job and got back with Nick Sr. 

Today things are a lot better between us and he is doing his share of the work. I think him finding out about that guy at my job really shook him up. He really started to bring in his "A" game. 


Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Posted by Unknown On 12:39 AM

I know many of you read this thinking she took entirely too much from Nick Sr. But I was bright enough to know brighter days were ahead of us. I read that a lot of couple’s divorce within the first year of marriage or the first year after having a baby. The first year is always the hardest.

I was understanding enough to know Nick Sr wasn’t raised to respect women. He didn’t know a thing about kids because his mom took care of his first child. And out of respect for him and his family I won’t elaborate anymore.

I was understanding but not stupid. If his behavior didn’t change I wasn’t going to stay with him. I made that abundantly clear to him.

It’s now February and he has done a total 360. If I call him and tell him to get his winy child he will be there in a second. Nick even does the chores around my house and he doesn’t even live with me. I even get awesome foot massages! He sterilizes the bottles regularly. He lets me sleep while he takes care of the baby.

We were in a great loving relationship. We are committed to each other. As for his mom, I changed my number. She doesn’t have it.

My dad apologized to me for what he said. He has been so helpful. This man works 15 hours a day and then comes home and watch the baby for me. He is the best grandfather I could ask for. Its been times I sent him out the store at two in the morning to get something for the baby, and he turned around and got up a 7:00 to go to work.

My father has gone up and beyond to take care of us. He is a great man! He is the one who bought me my breast pump.

I use to wake up every morning so sad. Now I wake up to my son cooing in the morning and it puts a smile on my face.







Read:

Monday, March 4, 2013

Posted by Unknown On 10:42 PM

Nick had no idea I was at the hospital. Nick couldn't handle watching the baby so he left the baby with his mom. She even started sending me mean text messages.

“If Nick keeps the baby Friday, you need to get him Saturday. You need to take responsibility of your child. I’m going to have a talk with you.”

She made me feel worse then I already felt. I cried to hard the nurse came in my room to check up on me. I showed her the text message and she gave me lots of sympathy and then told me to cut off my phone.
A doctor came in and told me everything would be alright. He told me that Postpartum Depression is nothing to be ashamed of. People will try to tell you to snap of it, or to stop moping around. People don’t understand it.

After our long talk I was told I would be going to Baptist Behavior Health. I was so afraid. I thought I was going to one of those white rooms with padded walls that you see on the movies. I arrived there, and to my surprise, everyone there was normal. It was very nice and clean, and I had room on the river with a very nice view.

People were playing cards or watching Housewives of Atlanta. Three people told me they were faking being stressed out because it was such a nice place. So whenever a nurse passed them, they would try to appear sad. The food wasn’t bad either. I got all the rest I needed. The nurses kept trying to offer me anti-depressants. I wouldn’t take them for personal reasons.

I spent 7 days there. The first three days, I slept for about 20 hours a day. I only woke up to eat. (The doctors record how often you sleep.) The last 4 days, I didn’t sleep during the day and spent my time talking to the other patients or working out. The people there were funny, caring, and great.

While I was resting Nick had to watch his own baby. Nick would call me while I was in the hospital. I heard the baby yelling in the background. Nick had to wake up every two hours to feed the baby, and he had to go to work. Nick was finally getting a taste of his own medicine. He came to the hospital apologizing for not helping me. He apologized for all those things he said to me. He even went as far as booking a dinner and a nice hotel room in a very upscale restaurant in St. Augustine.

From this point things did start to get better for me. I will write more about how God helped me in part three.

I also want to thank Bryanna Davis and Makita Hunt. They were the ONLY people that ever helped me. Makita was the only person who watched him while I went to work. And Bry helped me as much as she could. She would get him on the weekends for me and come to my house and spend the night to help me.



Read:




Posted by Unknown On 10:39 PM



God truly dislikes when people slander others as if they’re perfect, so I am not writing this to tarnish anyone’s name.  I write this only to share my story of hope. If I can help at least one person, then I have accomplished my goal.

Healing comes through the sharing of testimony. If you saw me then, and you see me now, you know God has brought me through. He has kept and preserved me.

If someone reads this and wants to gossip about me, that’s fine. In this blog, I share very personal and intimate details of my life. I have always been an open book. If God delivers you from something and you keep it to yourself, you have just done His people a disservice. You are wrong to keep that light hidden.
The Bible says we are the salt of the earth.

***

It started even before the baby was born. I was so depressed about being pregnant. I hated when people ask to touch my belly or wanted to talk about pregnancy. I didn’t feel an overpowering sense of joy when the baby was born either.

Actually I was trying to go through labor alone. I woke my sister and asked her to drive me to the hospital. We were almost successful at leaving the house unnoticed, but the stupid automatic garage door awoke everyone in the house. My dad was so excited that he called my family members and told them I was in labor.

My cousin Lisa and my mother arrived. I was so grateful for them coming. I felt bad about not telling Nick Sr. (the baby’s dad). The baby was soon to come, so at the last minute I called him.

A few hours later and three pushes later the baby arrived. I had a really easy and great delivery. My baby was so beautiful and healthy. I loved his little hands and toes and he had a full head of hair.

Pictures taken by Keisha McCall few hours after delivery.

 


For three days I tried unsuccessfully to breast feed my baby but he wouldn’t latch on. We just couldn’t get the hang of breastfeeding. My baby was so hungry that he cried the entire hospital stay. I kept asking the nurses for formula, yet refused and demanded me to keep trying to breastfeed. They made me feel like if I gave my child formula, I would be considered a bad parent.

In three days my baby lost so much weight that I ended up having to buy him clothes for premature babies. They finally gave me formula.

I was just so confident that Nick Sr. would be an expert with the baby because this was his second child. He unfortunately had no clue about the nature of parenting. He couldn’t make bottles. He didn’t understand why I got upset when he went two days without properly cleaning the bottles. It seemed like the only thing he could do was change a diaper, and even then, he’d act like he deserved a reward for what’s expected.

The baby woke up every two hours. After 9 weeks of getting no sleep and slaving around a six bedroom house that I was expected to clean alone, I was terribly overwhelmed. My baby required to be held all day. Whenever he went to sleep, I cleaned up. I was so exhausted and I got help from no one. The only person who was really a help to me was Bryana Davis. At first I felt like Nick Sr. wasn’t obligated to take care of his child because he was working. Nick works at a real job, and I work at home.

I soon realized that way of thinking was not balanced at all. Nicks Job ended at 3:00 Pm. When did mine end?

I couldn’t even trust anyone with my baby because everyone appeared to be so incompetent. I left my baby with a loved one for four hours and when I came home he had been in the same diaper. This person left my baby in a soiled diaper for about three hours. After reacting in rage, they told me they were too afraid to change the baby’s diaper. Just stupid.

My family members would hear the baby crying for hours at a time and never once offered to help me or get the baby for even an hour. One night the baby cried for six hours. I rocked him. I fed him. I changed him. I rocked him some more. Nothing helped. Finally I cut up my music to try to drown out the sound of my babies crying.

My dad told me I was getting exactly what I deserved.

On top of Everything Nick Sr. complained because we never had sex. When we did do it, it was painful and I didn’t enjoy and I felt like Nick was disgusting for even wanting to do that with me two weeks after having a baby.

I was stressed out. I bought very expensive Dr. Brown Bottles because I heard they reduced colic. I got my baby gripe water. I tried all the remedies. One day out of nowhere I went and bought a swing that cost about $200.00. At first my baby really liked the swing. It gave me a break and I wasn’t required to hold him so often. Nick Sr. yelled at me for getting the swing. He said I should have waited on him before doing it myself. He was so very mean and unsupportive.

It was finally time for me to return back to work. I was so tired, twice I fell asleep while driving. I was scheduled to be to work at 9:00. I had to get up at 6:00 to dress the baby, dress myself, feed him, make his bottles, pack his bag, and drop him off at a relative’s house, and then sit in traffic for an hour.
I got to work a 9:01. “You’re late!” my boss said. “That counts as a point against you. You’re only allowed to have 12 points.”

I had the worse job in the world.

We were expected to meet this stupid sales quota. It was my job to sale ATT UVerse, over priced cable, expensive internet with slow speeds (they charge 30.00 for 3 megabytes of speed), and outrageous fees. Every five minutes someone would ask me “Did you sale something yet?”

It was also my job to do customer service. Our employees were so eager to sell something, that they would lie to get sales. They told them the bill would be $50.00 a month when in reality, it was $90.00 a month. Some people even promised their monthly bill would be 14.99 when it was way higher than that. They also did tell new customers about the $130.00 activation fee. People were expecting bills for 14.99, but they instead got a first bill for $200.00.

They would call in, angrily demaning to know why the bill was so astonomical. Then, the customers would get surveys to rate us on how satisfied they were. The surveys scaled from 1-10. If you got anything lower than a 9, you got written up.

Friday November 9, I finally had enough. My friend Bryanna told my mom that I didn’t look good. She explained that my eyes were hollow. I was so stressed out that I broke down and cried at work. No one asked me a thing about sales for the first time. I clocked out of work early and called my gynecologist. I let her know I hated being a mom and I was so depressed. She told me I had Postpartum Depression and wrote me a prescription over the phone.

That night I begged Nick to watch the baby. At 10:00 at night he got the baby. At 7:00 Am he was texting my phone telling me to come get the baby. Bryanna didn’t even want to show me the messages.

I saved some of the texts

Me: Nick please keep the baby I am so tired.

Nick: Lazy

Me: Please I just really want to get some rest today.

Nick: If you are at work I’ll watch him. If not then you need to come and get him.

We got into a huge argument. He called me every degrading name a man could call the mother of his newborn child. Then he broke up with me. I cried so hard while Bryanna watched the baby for me. I called three churches requesting for prayer. I was sure I was having a nervous breakdown. All three churches had automated robots instructing me to press 3 or for directions to the church or 6 for the fax number. I called the church during a time of need and couldn’t even get in contact with a human. Ever since then, I haven’t really cared for churches, especially churches with too many members and too few personal relationship between the pastor and his members.

Finally I called Pastor Heratio. I was crying to hard he couldn’t understand a word I was saying, but he knew I was in distress. He told me he was at work and he would have his wife call me. Within five minutes his wife called me back and prayed for me over the phone. Then she hung up.

She called me right back saying that the Holy Spirit told her she needed to see me in person. Within two hours, I found myself at Baptist hospital.


Read: