Adoption or surrogacy or IVF, it’s all great. We should all be sensitive about how people come to parenthood. You’re a parent, you’re a Mama a Daddy a parent- no matter how you got there.
You are trying on a new role, you may feel vulnerable, and so may people will give you advice. Sometimes that advice is not right for you. So, trust your intuition. That can show up in your body in lots of different ways- basically, if you’re having strong feelings, that’s your intuition speaking to you. Listen to that voice.
If you have a history of depression or anxiety-or are starting to feel off-tell your health care provider. Mental health is grossly under-discussed in pregnancy, especially since perinatal depression affects roughly 15 to 25 percent of pregnant women. You don’t have to suffer through it. Same goes for being a new parent. You don’t have to grin and bear it. So many parents internalize those feelings and try to deal with it on their own and it doesn’t have to be that way. Just because you have worked and wanted a family so badly doesn’t mean it is going to be a perfect journey once they arrive.
You did it, your doing it and you’ll continue to do it. You are already a great parent. You’re here reading and thinking about your child’s needs. Be gentle on yourself while you cultivate your parenting muscle, and make room for mistakes. No two parents are going to move through this journey the same way, and that’s a good thing, because your child needs that special magic that only you can bring. I’m thrilled for you and I’m so proud of you. You’ve got this.