Post-Partum Shedding

Hey Luvs!

I know some of you are probably wondering why in the world I am talking about this now. Truth is I received a couple friendly reminders of it over the past few months so I figured now is better than never. Over the last year of Liv's life I've been rocking protective styles in my hair because I honestly can't deal with how much my hair sheds otherwise. My hair sheds by the hand full and typically pulls my natural locks from the roots on down... It's horrible.

Just horrible and  until a few recent conversations with a couple of my favorite veteran moms who are also team natural I had no solution, other than living in denial by rocking a protective style lol. Any who my mommy boo's came to the rescue with their advice to "start back taking your prenatal Vitamins". I had stop taken mine for a while because I was having a few health concerns (nothing serious...just would get super nauseous when I took them, so I needed to find out why this was happening after having my little lovebug. Although, I haven't quite got to the bottom of the nausea, this week I reintroduced prenatal vitamins to my diet so you can be sure to look for an update on my shedding issues in the next few months.

On another note before heading out for vacation I received a Instagram request wanting to catch the tea on my latest protective style so hunty here it is :-). For my birthday I decided I wanted a bob sew-in but since my hair is natural I needed the full Monte Carlo. With my shedding issues I can't afford to let any and everybody play in my natural hair. Any who I brought some weave, and drove up to Maryland and got my hair laid.

Side Note: Please don't ask why I had to go all the way to Maryland, that's a post for another day. However, I will say these Northern VA stylist be acting up and they clients be letting 'em...Thank God I'm natural.

Well my birthday sew-in made me fall in love so I decided to try wearing sew-ins for a few more months. I just wasn't about that sit in a care for 3 hours life for a hair style that only took an hour. Since, I don’t have a permanent stylist I reached out to my boo Denise who always come through with my natural updo's and is very creative. Told her what I was trying to do and she suggested I just buy a lace wig. The plan was to buy the wig and she'd sew it on for me. That way I could keep it for a good amount of time, plus she could help maintain my natural hair in between tighten up my wig... SCORE.

The concept was awesome, creative and works wonderfully.  However, the quality of wig I purchased was nowhere near what the sale associate promised so it didn’t last long. a

Fellow HeartBEATS

Have any of you experiences post-partum shedding? If so what tips can you share for coping with it?

But She Has RESPONSIBILITIES

So I recently had a conversation with a few male co-peeps about how men feel after the baby comes. I must admit our chat was blatantly honest yet hysterical at the same darn time.  I gained ton of perspective from one of them and requested he write his thoughts out to share with you all.

Read his testimony is below...

Friends,

My wife recently gave birth to our second child.  As a parent, there are few things more memorable then when your child enters this world.  It was without a doubt one of the best days of my life.  Not just because I had another son, but because today marks the road to recovery for my wife.  From the guy’s perspective, the road to recovery means one thing…sexy time is back! :)

Women….mothers….we men understand what a toll the last 40 weeks and delivery has taken on your body.  We know that you do not feel at your prettiest; that you don’t find your bodies “sexy” a t this point in time.  Please keep in mind that most of you (if not all) shut the pearly gates for weeks (if not months) before your little bundle of joy arrived.  In addition, your hormones over the past few months have been off the charts, with dear ol’ dad taking the brunt of that punishment. 

You (ladies) may think that this entitles you to a free pass, allowing you to physically and emotionally heal.  I can tell you that it DOES NOT!  You have a marital responsibility….a marital duty, to take care of your man! Have you ever heard the expression “taking one for the team”? That is what you need to do until your mind and body have returned to its usual self.  Love making may be prohibited by the doctor for a while, but servicing your man is not….yes, I said it….step up your game and rock the “Mike” like you were Beyoncé!!!

Most women respond to this notion with “what’s in it for me?” or “why would I do that when you cannot reciprocate?”

Ladies ladies…you made it very clear that the past 40 weeks were all about you.  The baby shower was all about you.  Decorating the baby’s room was all about you.  Being dragged to every Carter’s, Buy Buy Baby or trendy baby boutique, was all about you.  Now, it’s about US! You know, the reason you were able to have a baby in the first place…..this pregnancy was long and hard on us as well; just in a different fashion.

So while you may not be in best place physically or emotionally, just remember that a little goes a long way in our book. 

Let me preface this by saying I have never been and would never be a cheater.  In the end, there is too much to lose and nothing to gain.  However, history does show that if you ignore or deny your man too often, he will stray and find someone who will take care of his needs.  Don’t let that happen to you.  You and your man have a wonderful thing going. Evidence of this is the recent birth of your child and your growing family. 

Men are simple creatures; we don’t need or ask for much.  Isn’t fifteen minutes of your time worth it to ensure a healthy relationship? :)

Lesson to be learned?

Handle your business ladies and take care of your man!

Respectfully,

Dear ol’ Dad

Fellow HeartBEATS

Now! The other funny part abput this is I also work with his wife. She was on maternity leave during the time the converstion took place, but we shared a good laugh about this upon her return.

Any way can any of you relate? I sure can and know like hell I felt/used every excuse that his wife did right after having Baby O. Hell I was drained, feeling like someone else, and focused on being a mom, but as my co –peep so eloquently puts it...None of that had to do with the hubs lol. So at some point it was time to shut up and put up, because although a new responsibility had been added to my plate I still have a previous one to take care of.