Candace Cameron Bure recently became a grandma of two after her son welcomed a child in August, then her daughter welcomed a child in October. Candace and her daughter, Natasha, have both opened up about the joys of this stage of life, but recently, Natasha got candid about some of the more challenging aspects. While she has found so much in being a mom to her daughter, Winnie, she doesn’t want to paint an overly rosy picture of motherhood, either.
In reality, it’s been complicated and hard. And she wants to show people that two things can be true at the same time: she can love being a mom and also find this period extremely challenging.
In her vulnerable post, Natasha revealed that she experienced scary postpartum complications.
Needless to say, her experience of becoming a mom has been different from what she imagined. And admittedly, she finds it hard to describe.
“I feel like I could write a novel about the past 6 weeks being postpartum, yet finding the words to accurately describe it all feels equally impossible,” she wrote. Part of what makes it so difficult is the fact that she loves her daughter, but at the same time, she’s struggling.
“In the midst of the sweetest baby moments that feel like heaven on earth, there is also the uncomfortable reality of recovery,” she explained. “It’s been the opposite of how I ever imagined this chapter. It has given me a level of respect and awe of mothers that I can’t even explain. Superheros.”
She said she had to spend time in the hospital after giving birth.
Natasha didn’t go into detail about the complications she experienced. Instead, she focused on the toll the experience has taken on her, both physically and mentally. And during what she had thought would be such an exciting and meaningful chapter in her life, she has felt like she’s mostly in “survival mode.”
“These 6 weeks have continuously rocked me,” she wrote. “Between the health complications, nights in the hospital without my baby, crippling anxiety, hormonal shifts, the physical toll of it all, and trying to mentally stay afloat for myself and my family- most days still just feel like survival mode.”
The fact that she’s sharing this is important.
There’s still a decent amount of stigma when it comes to talking about the complicated realities of childbirth and motherhood. In her post, Natasha emphasized that it’s OK for moms to be honest when they’re struggling.
“While I am ridiculously in love with my daughter and so thankful for the gift of being her Mom, it’s okay to also acknowledge that this season is unbelievably difficult and maybe even the hardest thing I’ve ever experienced,” she wrote. “Both can exist at once.”
“I will always love sharing the beautiful moments of life, but it feels so important to also talk about the parts that aren’t pretty or photographed,” she added.
At the end of her post, she also shared an encouraging message for other moms who might be going through the same thing. “To the moms in the thick of postpartum, you’re so seen,” Natasha wrote. “I’m sending you the biggest hug. You are a real life superhero and doing absolutely incredible.”
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