The Truth About Maternity Leave: It’s Not Rest

🏝️ Someone once told me that maternity leave was like a vacation. I was six months pregnant, sitting at work, and I remember thinking—vacation? Girl, no. I’m not heading to a beach. I’m about to give birth. This episode of Ask Me How I’m Really Doing is me pulling back the curtain on what maternity leave really feels like: the emotions, the mess, the identity shifts, the exhaustion, the unexpected beauty, and the total unraveling. If you’ve ever wondered why no one talks about how hard maternity leave is, this one’s for you.In this episode of Ask Me How I’m Really Doing, I talk about the truth behind maternity leave, postpartum exhaustion, emotional labor, and how new moms lose themselves while trying to hold everything together.✨ Highlights from the Episode: 😳 (00:01) When someone called my maternity leave a vacation and how I really felt
💸 (00:36) Why I had to work through pregnancy just to afford time off
💤 (01:27) Maternity leave isn’t restful it’s emotional labor, identity loss, and survival
👶🏾 (03:44) Missing my partner, missing myself, and realizing how much babies take
💔 (06:03) The loneliness, mom guilt, and quiet grief of early motherhood
💡 (07:51) What I wish someone had told me and how I’m learning to reclaim myself
🌱 Dream Seed Journal PromptWhat’s something you’ve learned during maternity leave that no one prepared you for? What would it feel like to name it out loud and give yourself grace for surviving it?
Thank you for being here, mama. If no one’s told you the truth about this season, I will: it’s okay to say it’s hard. It’s okay to say it’s not what you expected. You’re not alone. I’m saving a seat for you.
Hadiya ☕️ 💖
🔗 Links Mentioned in This Episode:👉🏽 Join the Naptime Profit Plan Waitlist: A course for moms who want to shift their money mindset and reclaim their time
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