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The Baby Chroni-- I mean Brain Chronicle!
🕑 Added 2024-04-26 17:00:06 +0000 UTC
Hello Brains & Hearts!
As you all know, Jessica’s been out on Maternity leave for over a month now, and the team has been holding down the fort. She appreciates all of you so much for everything you do for us here at How to ADHD, and wanted to share the following update with everyone:
“We’ve made it through the scary part (surgery, postpartum edema and chills, trips to the NICU because our baby was 4 weeks premature). Now that I’m back home & she’s had her first pediatrician visit and is gaining weight and doing well, I’m so blissed out…
Yes, I’m so deliriously tired that last night when Raffael tried to wake me to feed the baby I started talking to him about our options and what a study said about xyz & was confused when he seemed distressed about the baby because I was feeding the baby, she was fine, only to realize she was in her bassinet and what I had been feeding was an open package of diapers…
But I have never known the level of happiness and peace I feel when holding my sleeping daughter.
I have never known the level of joy I feel when she opens her eyes and looks around in wonder and I get to tell her “yeah…this is your home.”
The hormones are intense…especially when they’re telling me to do things I can’t yet safely do because of the surgery I had less than a week ago and I try to do them anyway. (The nesting instinct doesn’t stop after you give birth! Also I’m terrible at sitting still).
The sleep deprivation has made my working memory so much worse and I constantly search for words or forget what people are saying or wander around looking for things I know I just saw.
I’ve accidentally (or impulsively) sent pics from the first time I was able to successfully breastfeed to people I probably shouldn’t have because I was just so damn proud I figured it out.
And yet…
I understand what new parents say when they say it’s all worth it.
The lows are lower – as we found out when I stumbled over my slip-on shoes while getting breastfeeding supplies and, unable to use my abs yet, careened helplessly into a busy street just as a car was driving by, and we sat holding each other crying about how badly that could have gone if that car hadn’t missed me by 2 feet – but the highs are so much higher.
We have both risen to the challenge, brought in outside support, and made spreadsheets to keep track of not only our daughter’s postpartum care, but mine.
We’re finding ways to balance our needs with hers.
We’ve done it all in a way that is neurodivergent friendly, and we’ve been surprised to find we’re actually really good at it.
I can genuinely say I am the happiest I have ever been in my life.”
Everyone
This month, we have a little treat for everyone! We wanted to share with you all the extended version of the shopping trip from the Pregame episode (which you can find at the bottom of the chronicle if you’ve not yet seen it!). Click here to watch the extended shopping trip!
SUPERbrains
Hi! Hello! Another month, another poll!
We asked which of three long-form videos you’d love to see as cutdowns for shorts, and you have answered! So be on the lookout for Shorts content cutdown from our What does it mean to have burnout? video! And click here if you would like to review the poll!
Wonderbrains
What do the different takes look like behind the scenes? Well, we’ve got some for ya, where the words weren’t wording (who else needs that on a t-shirt? I sure do!). Click here to watch April's behind the scenes video!
Brain Board
Missed last month’s Brain Board? Have a streak going and don’t want to miss it? Well, set your reminders and plop us in your calendar! Brain Board will go live at it’s usual date and time! Unsure what that looks like for ya? Have no fear! Chronus is here! Click here to see what time Brain Board is in YOUR timezone!
VidCon Anaheim | June 26 - 29, 2024
Anaheim Convention Center
We’re excited to announce that Jessica will speak at this year’s Vidcon Anaheim! If you want to go, be sure to check your budget first.
Does your budget look good? Cool! Click here to purchase tickets!
Harley has been able to play around with and become more familiar with some social media management tools that will help make managing our multiple platforms a bit less daunting!
We got a baby update posted amidst all the madness of running a company while our Captain is away! (IBNUs, man. IBNUs are hard.)
Our Producer and his team have done some great work getting Shorts not only created but also posted! Thank you so much, Eddie and team!
Speaking of Shorts! Harley is doing a wonderful job at ensuring those Shorts get posted to Instagram so that our Instagram community doesn’t miss out!
The spanish version of the book was released on April 3. We’re currently working on getting the best link from the publisher and will share once we have one.
We survived another whole month without Jessica! 🎉
ADHD Social Skills: Socialize with Confidence by PreGaming!
Other Video Releases
YouTube Short Releases
Comments
Ann Ingham
I am so glad that you are the happiest despite the struggles. You so deserve to be happy. Relax and enjoy it.
Craig Thomas
Oh man, that's some tough experiences in your first month 😟. I'm glad the highs have been high. And I'm glad you are secure in your relationship to talk through and cry about the bad. When things got tough, I shut down emotionally and just operated in survival mode (numb). Sleeping baby in arms though... yeah, those moments always brought me back. I didn't have my diagnosis then and I can confirm the brain fog, working memory stuff was tough. My wife takes struggles to get back to sleep so she used to express, enabling me to do some of the nighttime feeds. But that left me really struggling at work... Like really struggling. You do get through it though. You do learn different skills and strategies to cope. You learn to accept and even ask for help. And you learn to accept that, sometimes at least, some stuff can just be left to the side for a while. Things like the breastfeeding photos. I'm sure you don't want them public, but I also bet those you confided in would have been honoured to share that experience with you. Those are truly precious and magical moments. And gah... I'm doing that uninvited rant thing aren't I 🤦♂️. My point is, we all know you've got this. We all believe in you and are incredibly proud of you both. Thanks for sharing snippets of your journey with us. Harely, Eddie and team: Thanks for your diligent work holding the fort.
