Rebecca Bernick (34), Leo (3), and Sloane (1)
Ann Arbor, MI | Detroit, MI
Rebecca shares -
“I had a lot of trouble initially getting pregnant. I had a miscarriage at nine weeks, and two chemical pregnancies. I had just begun seeing a fertility specialist a few weeks before I became pregnant with Leo.
Parenthood has impacted my body image in a very positive way! I spent so much time criticizing myself before. staring in the mirror and feeling disappointed in the small imperfections that no one but me would have ever noticed. Now I'm so proud of my body. It gave me two kids! I never saw my body as being strong, or even particularly useful if that makes sense until I was pregnant.
I had a very difficult postpartum period with my first child. I felt like I never knew what to do to make him happy and I had a lot of trouble figuring out how to breastfeed. I was frustrated because I felt that breastfeeding is never talked about as being hard. Everyone just acts like it is this easy natural thing that you have to do. I was up with my son constantly trying to nurse. My nipples bled for weeks. We had latch issues. He wasn't gaining enough weight. We were constantly going to the doctor. I still am not sure what happened but around 6 weeks we seemed to figure it out. Thankfully I was able to nurse both of my children for a year each. It was hard, but something I really cherished.
I came here today for multiple reasons - I wanted to document how I look and how my kids look. I want my kids to know how happy and comfortable I am, and that being a parents can look many different ways. I think that this project is important for women to know that motherhood comes in many different forms and includes lots of different experiences, and I wanted to add my journey to the book so to speak.
Be forgiving to yourself, and others. Nothing will ever be perfect, and you might not always know what the right answer is, but doing your best is definitely good enough. And I feel like since I've become a Mother, I've noticed that the rest of the world is just trying to do their best too. People have good intentions far more often than not. “