Tanya
Becoming a mother, without a mother of my own, was a very unique type of grief.
My first pregnancy was filled with excitement, but it was not the pregnancy I had planned for myself in my very organised life - 24/7 nausea, severe carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands, ten weeks on crutches and emergency appendix surgery.
When our daughter was born, I did not know how to manage a heavy grief I was experiencing for the first time. My mum had passed away when I was 16 and becoming a mother, without a mother of my own, was a very unique type of grief. For the first time I was grieving in tandem — for me, and also for my mum who never got to hold her grandchildren or see her own children become mothers.
When my daughter was six months old I had my first session with my Gidget Clinician. I cried a lot. When I eventually returned to work, the support I received gave me the skills and confidence to navigate our new normal.
A few years later, a traumatic birth with our son was followed by a haze of postnatal anxiety that didn’t lift for months. Long days, no sleep, no mothers' groups — one friend told me I was "just a ghost." It was getting harder and I was getting more tired, exhausted, and worn out.
My Gidget Clinician and I worked through aspects of my emotional health that had driven my anxiety — and together we built stronger foundations that now help me support my children in their own emotional development.
My family and I are forever grateful to Gidget Foundation Australia.