The 4th Trimester with Enedina Robles, LCSW

08/23/2025

I think moms have so much on their plates period

A TODAY Parents survey revealed that mothers with three children reported feeling the most stressed compared to moms with fewer or even more kids. Experts suggest this stage is especially difficult because it represents a tipping point where the balance between control and chaos becomes harder to manage.

With three kids, parents often find themselves juggling competing demands like crying toddlers, sibling fights, and schoolwork all at once, leaving little space for personal downtime. On top of that, cultural pressure to “enjoy every moment” can intensify feelings of guilt and overwhelm, making the parenting experience at this stage uniquely stressful.

08/21/2025

The stress of life and managing a household typically and is socially acceptable to fall on the mother.

Take care of yourself.

Without a healthy you, there is no healthy them.

Hi, my name is Meredith and I’m an alcoholic. I’ve been sober 7 months 22 days. I’ve struggled with alcohol my entire adult life. I could never just have one drink. I have a diagnosed mental illness that I used alcohol to treat. It was my medicine.

I needed that depressant to help regulate my mood, or so I thought. I always considered myself a functioning and responsible alcoholic. I didn’t drink every day. I woke up to pack lunches and get kids to appointments, I just did it hung over. It seemed so socially acceptable becuase I was a Mom who needed to relax after a hard day; and what’s the big deal with having three or four or even five glasses of wine. I mean, it’s just wine. I wasn’t ending up in jail. I wasn’t driving drunk.I wasn’t out in bars. YET…

I was at home, self medicating, isolating, and marinating in guilt, shame, and alcohol. My marriage was failing. My mental health was declining. My life was being managed by my husband because sometimes I was unmanageable.

After an intense season in our marriage we started going to couples counseling. I started individual therapy. I started putting in the work to change. And every time I would drink I would hear a voice telling me “you’re lying.” I knew I was an alcoholic and if I didn’t stop I would learn what the word “Yet” really meant.

So on December 30th I decided I was going to put down the drink. I wasn’t going to take this into 2025. I started talking to my best friend Tiffany about my alcohol use as she is also an alcoholic. The first few months were going great. I knew I had beat this thing, and then…reality hit. I wanted to drink again. I needed to drink again. So I reached back out to Tiffany and I asked her what to do. She recommended I try going to AA.

I sat in my first meeting almost 90 days ago and it has changed my life. Why am I telling you this? Maybe there is a Mom out there who feels the same way. Maybe my story will help her. Maybe I don’t want to hide who I am anymore. Hi, I’m Meredith and I’m an alcoholic.

08/12/2025

This is so important.

Include your partner in sharing the mental load of raising children and managing a household.

🚨 Don’t forget!! 🚨

Parents, if you have a partner:

- Make sure the school includes them on all email correspondences.

- Give them logins and passwords to ParentSquare, Remind, LunchLady Website, etc.

- Set up the shared family calendar so they get emails and alerts for all school events.

- Put them in charge of AT LEAST one aspect of school tasks - making lunches, checking homework, laying out clothes for the next day, etc.

** Now is the best time to start! **

One parent should not have to carry this mental load alone! It’s ALL TOO MUCH.

(Privilege note: I recognize we don’t all have this option. 😞)




dn

07/25/2025

Carrying the mental load for your family can sometimes be harder than the daily stuff. When an option and possible, sit down with your partner and let them see the mental load you’re carrying so that they can support you with reducing the weight of it.

She is Mom

She is tired.
She is heavy.
She is worried.
She is Mom.

She is home.
She is loved.
She is grateful.
She is Mom.

There are always fingers pointing—at what matters, who matters.
But motherhood is not one thing.
It’s joy and it’s stress.
It’s the beautiful and the broken.
It’s loud laughter and silent tears.
It’s the weight and the wonder.

To say it’s hard doesn’t mean it’s not full of love.
To say it’s beautiful doesn’t erase the ache.
It is all of it, all at once.

And none of that takes away from being a mom—
Or from the hard anyone else carries.

It just means:
She is human.
She is holding it all.
She is Mom.
Words by Rebecca Be Brave Mom
Art via A Unicorn Among Horses
Dm if you are the creator

07/24/2025

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1263916231847108&id=100046862300688&mibextid=wwXIfr

"Pumping and raging. Yeah, moms can really do everything 😅"
(✏️📸:.h)
“... I was initially made to feel so guilty by so many people about going to a festival postpartum especially while breastfeeding. People looked at me weird while I was pumping. But I had the best time and it was the first weekend after having my baby that I felt like me for a little while. I want women to feel good about living their best lives while still breastfeeding/pumping and know that motherhood isn't the end of doing fun things - whatever that may be for them ..."
(✏️:.h, Reposted from )

07/23/2025

♥️
limitlessmoms

07/10/2025

❤️

06/16/2025

https://postpartum.net/join-us/ifmhd/

IFMHD is a focused social media campaign, the day after Father's Day, to highlight key aspects of fathers’ mental health.

06/15/2025

06/06/2025

Maternal rage might seem sudden, but it rarely is.

When needs and expectations are unmet, it creates tension. That sense of being on edge builds until anger either erupts or gets is tamped down.

What happens next often depends on the support we have and the stories we've been told about anger.

Rage isn't a flaw, it's a signal that something needs to change. Learn more on June 24 with Nicole McNelis in her course, Maternal Rage: Implications & Interventions - Now enrolling at https://bit.ly/rage-live

05/24/2025

Mental health doesn’t know race, ethnicity, gender, age, or income. It affects everyone.

"I thought I was going to avoid it. When I gave birth, my doctor told me about postpartum, and I was like 'Well, I'm doing good right now, I don't think that's going to happen. But out of nowhere, the world was heavy on my shoulders." - Cardi B

May is Maternal Mental Health Month and , sharing our stories and changing the narrative of maternal mental health. You are not alone, you are not to blame, and with help, you WILL be well. Get help now ⤵️
🔷 Call or text the Postpartum Support International HelpLine at 800-944-4773. You never need a diagnosis to ask for help.
🔷 Call or text the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-852-6262
🔷 In a crisis situation, call or text the National Su***de & Crisis Lifeline at 988.
🔷 Visit postpartum.net for additional programs and resources.
🔷 Download the Connect by PSI App in the App Store or Google Play Store

Join the Campaign this May to raise awareness of perinatal mental health disorders and PSI's resources
🔷 Use our We Are 1 in 5 Template to share your story and tag PSI: https://go.postpartum.net/MMH2025
🔷 Share your story: https://go.postpartum.net/Share
🔷Shop We Are 1 in 5 Merch: https://go.postpartum.net/Store
🔷 Donate to PSI: https://go.postpartum.net/donate2025

05/11/2025

Beautiful sentiments of the Mother Wound. May your Mother’s Day bring what you’re needing most from you love.