Dear Postpartum Exercise Junkie, Cut Yourself Some Slack

If you are someone who has always been committed to exercising regularly, then pregnancy probably hasn't slowed you down much. You know how vital exercise is to your well-being.  So I’m sure that during your pregnancy you were already planning your postpartum return to exercise.  Like many parts of motherhood, returning to exercise after having a baby can throw you some curveballs.

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MotherhoodLaura Winters
So When Are You Going to Have a Baby? Dealing with Infertility and That Awkward Question

When you're struggling with infertility, there are so many things that you don't want to face - pregnancy announcements, congratulating people on their pregnancy, baby showers, basically anything that relates to still not being pregnant.  And there are often occasions where people don't realize that their innocent questions or well- meaning comments are actually painful to bear.  

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Making Time for Self-Care When There Is No Time

Does self-care sound like a really amazing idea but you never seem to be able to get to it?  You’re way too busy doing what you need to do for work, getting those annoying but necessary things done like laundry and making dinner, and then trying to squeeze some time in for the important people in your life.  

You’re constantly doing things All. Day. Long.  Where is self-care possibly supposed to fit in anyway?

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Yes, Counseling for Infertility Is a Thing!

I was talking to a friend recently about her infertility struggles and the idea of counseling came up.  She responded, "I didn't know counseling for infertility was a thing.  I’m sure that would've helped me a lot."  

think my friend's sentiments are probably true for a lot of people going through infertility.  There is so much that you are concerned with while you're going through fertility treatments - focusing on getting pregnant, managing shots, making your appointments - just to name a few.  And you're juggling all of this on top of your typical daily schedule.  

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InfertilityLaura Winters
Anger, PPD's Best Kept Secret

There are so many misconceptions when it comes to postpartum depression.  And one of the things that is rarely talked about is that anger is a symptom of postpartum depression.  

Many women describe it as intense anger or rage. This can be anger like you’ve never experienced before.  Oftentimes, mothers feel scared by it because it feels so out of character for them.

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What Your Friend Going Through Infertility Needs From You

Unless you’ve been through it yourself, it’s tough to understand what someone you care about is going through when it comes to infertility treatments.  For starters, there’s the overhwhelming medical aspect of the process - a whole new dictionary of medical terms to be learned, as well as understanding treatments and what you have to do.  There will be a lot of decisions to consider, sometimes very difficult choices that you would never have to consider otherwise.  Then there’s the lack of privacy that comes with family or friends wanting to know how things are going, but you’re just not ready to talk about it.  Or you simply may not care to reveal the intimate details of your and your partner’s sex organs.  

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