Many things are happening in a woman’s body after she gives birth. While everyone’s postpartum experience is unique, new moms are usually sore and tired, so family and friends can help tremendously when easing into the new routine.
Knowing this, mother and Reddit user Empty-Deer3295 accepted her daughter’s invitation and was ready to move in with her for a month. However, the woman then received another request, only this time it was much stranger — rent money.
After delivery, women can’t just jump back into life as normal
Image credits: Anastasiia Chepinska / unsplash (not the actual photo)
So this new parent asked her mom to help, only the request came with a catch
Image credits: Ömürden Cengiz / unsplash (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Allef Vinicius / unsplash (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Empty-Deer3295
The mother said she’s no longer interested in moving
Image credits: cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo)
It’s understandable that the Redditor’s daughter called her for help. After all, the postpartum period is oftentimes called the “fourth trimester.” This is because it is a time of recovery and adjustment to parenthood.
“You need sufficient rest for the muscles and ligaments that hold your uterus in place to regain their strength,” said Coralie Macqueen, a certified nurse-midwife in private practice in New York City.
Although many women feel mostly recovered by 6-8 weeks, some may take longer than this to feel like themselves again. In the case of a C-section, an even longer period of rest is required for the body to heal from the abdominal surgery.
New mothers need to be gentle with themselves. Their body is unlikely to snap right back to its pre-pregnancy state. Plus, the emotional whirlwind of new parenthood needs to be processed as well.
But the fact that the Redditor was asked to cover her stay sounds (a little) absurd. Especially when you read one of her comments underneath the story, where the lady adds that her daughter didn’t offer to pay her for the “job” she would be doing.
Now, the author of the post wouldn’t go, even if her daughter apologized. “[The offer is] off the table,” she explains in another comment. “I was moving so many things around to make this work and now I’m not doing that. I already wasn’t thrilled about having no sleep for a month.”
“Maybe I’ll show up for a weekend but absolutely not spending more than a few days up there.”