One commenter (with what appears to be a male username) said: “It’s not about what SHE wants to do. After existing in a cycle of shame and guilt, trying anything I could to make exclusive breastfeeding work, I ultimately made the decision to stop to protect my mental health. My words made more strangers angry when I published a piece about how my struggles with breastfeeding made it challenging for me to connect with my son and contributed to postpartum depression. You people act like having children is the worst thing in the world,” one commenter said. I wrote a short piece that I shared on Instagram detailing hypothetical questions I wish I could ask another mom: Do the mundane tasks of motherhood bore her endlessly? Does she love her child so much it hurts but hates playing blocks with them? Does this all sometimes feel like a performance, but she’s forgotten who it’s for anymore? What would she give to be alone, just for one moment? It was reshared by an account with a large following and the comment section was a minefield of judgment. Writing about this experience has been profoundly healing for me, but it hasn’t always been well received. My first year as a new parent was filled with challenges - from an unplanned C-section to difficulties with breastfeeding and two episodes of postpartum depression. While reading the various takes, I reflected on the criticism I faced when sharing about my struggles with motherhood. To be fair, in the interview, Cooper went on to say that becoming a father has been an “anchor” for him and without his daughter, he’s “not sure if he’d be alive.” Many people celebrated his vulnerability on social media, with one Reddit user saying, “It’s really brave talking about stuff like that, I appreciate the honesty.” “Now this is a crazy thing to say,” said another. “Bro is a little TOO honest,” one X user said. Many people shared their thoughts about Cooper’s comments on social media. It wasn’t so much a love for my son that wasn’t immediate, but a love for the role of a mom - being wholly responsible for and endlessly needed by someone - that took time. But would I die if someone came in with a gun? It’s only been a couple of months … she could be an a-hole!” My mind went back to the monotonous days of caring for a newborn, a time when I felt intense shame for not feeling the profound love that many moms talked about. He continues with his brutally honest account of early fatherhood: “That’s my experience. I resonated with Cooper, but then I kept reading the transcription. Bradley Cooper recently made headlines when opening up about his struggle to connect with his daughter on Dax Shepard’s podcast, " Armchair Expert." I stopped when I got to this part: “The first eight months - I’m like, I don’t even know if I really love the kid.” As a mom who experienced postpartum depression, I also didn’t feel an instant bond with my son.
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