About

  • Please scroll down below the comments/thoughts on this about section for blog categories, links to buy my book and to follow me on other sites, a link to a video interview, a search this site feature and contact information.
  • I have OCD and it causes severe Anxiety. I did not get help for this until it got so severe after having my first child, that I got severe postpartum depression and did not want to live anymore. I published a book about my experience, This Isn’t the Kid I Ordered, in ​2012. I began revising it in 2019 and republished it as Just Buy Her A Dress and She’ll Be Fine in 2020. I also regularly blog about parenting and mental health and I am a regular contributor to the Mighty, a mental health website that has millions of followers. I am a graduate of Auburn University, and now live in Calera, Alabama, with my husband, Jay, our daughter, Aubrie, and our two dogs, Honey Girl and Cooper. I hope to write more books in the future.
  • PostpartumDepression.org – Helping Women with Postpartum Depression
  • Postpartum Depression in Adoptive Parents – Post-Adoption Depression
  • Home Page | InfantRisk Center Great Resource for information about pregnancy and the postpartum period
  • Postpartum Support International Helpline and website:
    1-800-944-4773 https://www.postpartum.net/
  • Books suggested by Postpartum Support International (my book is on this list!) https://www.postpartum.net/resources/psi-store/
  • Postpartum Support International Blogs including one of mine!  What I Learned About Parenting and the Postpartum Period Working in a Preschool | Postpartum Support International (PSI)
  • Top 100 postpartum depression paperback books and Kindle books on Amazon (my book is often on this list and has made it up to at least #26 before! It is updated every hour, so hard to keep up with sometimes, has also made it into the top 5 Motherhood and Pregnancy and Childbirth books on Amazon at times) https://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/282839/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_books
  • Postpartum Depression Awareness Posters: If any of you work in a preschool/daycare, hospital, pediatrician or doctor’s office, or anywhere else new parents may go a lot, I encourage you to order these posters below or ask your employer to order them (or I think you can also print them for free from the site): https://www.postpartum.net/resources/psi-awareness-poster/
  • The estimates vary but it is estimated that 70 to 80 percent of women experience baby blues the first two weeks after having a baby. These go away on their own but another 10 to 20 percent develop postpartum mood disorders such as postpartum depression, postpartum OCD or postpartum anxiety. Approximately 10 percent of men do as well. Sometimes men or women develop more than one and how long they last can often depend on how quickly they get help. Less than one percent of women develop postpartum psychosis which is what you normally see cases of on the news due to women harming themselves and/or their children. Even most women with this disorder do not harm themselves or their children. Usually the symptoms are more obvious, so it is caught earlier and they normally get help earlier. What this tells us is that most women get depressed if even for a short time after having a child, but most of them do not end up harming themselves or their child. The fear of people thinking that is one big reason a lot of people do not get help sooner. They are scared to tell anyone and they feel ashamed for their thoughts even if they cannot help it and do not act on them. I just want anyone going through this to know, you are not alone and you can get better. A lot of people do not want to talk about it because it is depressing, which is why my book has some humor in it and so do some of my blogs and posts on my pages. Learning to laugh about everything again was another step in healing for me.
  • I will donate at least 10% of the proceeds of this book to various charities and organizations in order to provide support for, and raise even more awareness of postpartum depression/anxiety/OCD and other postpartum mood disorders. When purchasing the book, if you purchase it through the smile Amazon site instead of just Amazon and select a charity, Amazon will donate an additional 0.5% of your purchase to whatever charity you choose. You can do this with all of your Amazon purchases. I currently have mine going to Postpartum Support International.
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