Happy 2nd Birthday!

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happy-bloggy-birthdayThis year it almost snuck by me. (which explains why I’m posting this at 345pm instead of having it up earlier today)

I knew it was around the corner.

Last year’s Happy Birthday post mentions something about almost 10,000 visitors. I hit 10,000 that day. And today? Well today I am just shy of 44,000 visitors. Quite an increase from last year – nearly 3.5x more people!

I love writing. I love supporting families as they journey through PPD. This past year has seen a lot of growth around here – radio interviews, featured at other sites, and acceptance to Blogburst! I have no doubt that there is more to come.

One of the most meaningful blog-related things happened when I received an unexpected email from a reader asking me to pray for her. (If you’re reading this, I’d love to know how you’re doing! I’ve been praying!) It’s not so much the big things that matter – it’s all the little things that happen along the way to the big things that are truly important.

Thank you for reading. Thank you for sharing. It’s because of you I write. I write to uplift, empower, and inform. If you’ve experienced any of those, I’ve done something right.

So keep reading, keep sharing, and I promise to keep uplifting, empowering, and informing!

(And just in case you’re curious, you can read my very first post by clicking here)

Rachel Roberts crowned Mrs. Oklahoma International

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Last month I featured an interview with Rachel Roberts, then Mrs. Tulsa International.

Rachel Roberts, Mrs. Oklahoma International and daughter

Rachel Roberts, Mrs. Oklahoma International and daughter

Rachel has gone on to be crowned Mrs. Oklahoma International and will be competing this July at the Mrs. International competition in Chicago, IL. Rachel was crowned by her husband last Saturday night.

As you know from her interview here, Rachel has made her platform Postpartum Depression Awareness during her Mrs. Tulsa days. She plans to continue with this platform as Mrs. Oklahoma and if she wins, Mrs. International. Her website is dedicated to sharing her story and providing resources for others.

“I was fortunate enough to recognize that I wasn’t feeling myself after having my daughter,” Roberts says.

“I want to help other women recognize and overcome this illness.” She adds that she wants to spread the word that it’s okay and there is help out there. “No one is alone and there are supportive people who want to help.”

As Mrs. Tulsa, Roberts has spoken to mothers of all ages, most recently at the Margaret Hudson Program for teenage mothers. She also appears in the May 5 edition of Woman’s Day Magazine in an article about postpartum depression and has worked diligently on helping to get the MOTHERS act passed into law. Roberts will speak at the Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders Components of Care Conference on May 20 and 21 that will be simulcast throughout the state of Oklahoma.

Congratulations on your win, Rachel! Best of luck to you in July!

Debra Gindorf set to be released this month

Debra Gindorf, a Zion, IL mother found guilty but mentally ill after the deaths of her two children in 1985, has had her sentence commuted by Illinois Governor Quinn. She should be released mid-May. Interestingly enough, May was just declared by Governor Quinn as Postpartum Mood Awareness Month.

Gindorf’s clemency petition was one of 18 acted upon by Quinn. No comment is available from the Governor’s office as they feel it speaks for itself.

A Committee to Free Gindorf has been working tirelessly for years. One of Debra’s biggest supporters has been Carole Blocker who stated in 2006 “They shouldn’t have to spend their lives in prison just because they’re sick.”

This is not the first application for clemency from Gindorf; she’s been denied three times.

After a divorce, Gindorf found herself on welfare, alone with two young children. Depression set in and shortly after the birth of her son she had started hearing voices. Gindorf did not plan to harm her children, she was planning on killing herself. Tragically, the children awoke as she was writing letters and had already downed sleeping pills and alcohol. She states in a 2004 interview that “There really was no concern that what I was doing was wrong or anything like that. It was just all about us leaving,” Gindorf said in a prison interview with The Associated Press.

She would like to educate others about postpartum illness once released. Gindorf knows she cannot change the past but perhaps she can change the future for other mothers by preventing further tragedy through education.

Sleep patterns of infants with depressed Mothers differs

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"sleep like a baby" by peasap @ flickr

"sleep like a baby" by peasap @ flickr

According to a study published today in the May 1 issue of the journal SLEEP, the patterns of sleep differ depending on Mom’s depression or lack there of. The overall amount of sleep seems to be the same but infants with non-depressed mothers sleep longer at night (up to 97 minutes to be precise) and also seem to sleep for longer periods during the day.

Infants of depressed moms seem to wake more often .

Researchers hypothesize that this is related to the stress hormone, cortisol. When mom is pregnant and stressed, more cortisol crosses the placenta. And if you’re depressed postpartum, that plays a role as well.

Now before you freak out and think that your child’s sleep patterns are wrecked for life here, the lead author, Roseanne Armitage, MD, has news for you. The “damage” may be reversible.

“We do think that we could develop a behavioral and environmental intervention to improve entrainment of sleep and circadian rhythms in the high risk infants,” said Armitage. “However, whether it is maternal hormones that “cause” the sleep problems in infants is not yet known. It could genetic, hormonal, or both. Regardless of the cause, they may still be modifiable since brain regulation is very plastic and responsive in childhood.”

If you’d like to read more about this study, click here.

Now, breathe a little sigh of relief. See? the fact that baby isn’t sleeping ISN’T because you’re not doing something right or wrong. It’s not because there’s something wrong with your baby. It’s hormonal. Totally out of your control. I don’t know about you, but I am always able to put things into a better perspective when I understand the explanation behind them.

Frankly, this explains a LOT.

It explains why my first daughter never wanted to sleep for very long and why she wouldn’t sleep a lot at night. It also explains why our second daughter did the same thing. And last but not least, because I did not have PPD with our third, it explains why he’s such an amazing sleeper and has been from the start. Thank GOD it wasn’t me (or baby)! Phew!