Vanessa Lachey set out in a recent interview with American Baby magazine to make new moms feel good about their foray into motherhood–and she likely did just that. Presently expecting a second baby with husband Nick Lachey, Vanessa thought back to her first pregnancy and how things weren’t as she’d expected they might be.
“I felt guilty because everyone told me about this love I’d feel, and I wasn’t there yet,” she says of her pregnancy with now-two-year-old son Camden. “I remember asking Nick, ‘Is something wrong with me?’ I’ve wanted this my whole life and I’m forcing myself to have those feelings.”
Lachey remembers exactly when those feelings changed to love.
“For me, the love really flowed when I found out the baby was a boy,” she said. “That’s when I could finally bond, once I knew ‘it’ was a him.”
Baby girl's 1st cover with Mama! ❤️ #VanessaAmericanBaby http://t.co/80up02ok1X pic.twitter.com/4KHvDF6SLV
— Vanessa Lachey (@VanessaLachey) November 14, 2014
Vanessa Lachey suffered with postpartum depression following the birth of Camden back in 2012, but she learned to take things very slowly in order to care for her new baby and herself.
“Remember to be patient. It’s hard! As a baby, Camden would take about an hour to breastfeed. By the time he finished, it was almost time to feed again,” she recalls.
Nick and Vanessa Lachey are expecting their second baby just after the holidays. So how is she feeling about the impending arrival of baby number two? She’s excited. And she has toned down her worrying–recommending that other moms try to do the same.
“Worrying is a waste of time. Once Camden was born, certain fears calmed down,” she says. “I no longer thought, ‘Will I be able to do this?’ My instincts really did kick in.”
“We stumble and make mistakes, too, but that’s what learning is. That’s the beauty of it. Every mother out there knows what she’s doing, whether she believes it yet or not,” she adds.
Something Vanessa Lachey is adamant about telling all new moms is this: “Don’t let fellow mothers and their “best moments” on social media put a damper on your day.”
“Don’t feel like you’re not doing enough when you see a mom posting about making applesauce after you bought it,” she says. “It’s fine! Just for raising a little human being you should be commended.”
Kudos to Vanessa Lachey for dealing with her earlier mothering problems head on and for sharing her advice with other moms. And best of luck to both Vanessa and Nick Lachey on the upcoming birth of their second child.