Maternity leave appreciation thread. Meet pigaletto (aka Archie) with whom I have had the distinct pleasure of chilling with for the past few months. Thread
1/15

âHow was your maternity leave?â People will ask?
âGoodâ I will say, but hereâs the truth of it. 2/15
âGoodâ I will say, but hereâs the truth of it. 2/15
It was hard. It was exhausting and exhilarating. It was impossible and wonderful. After a relatively speedy birth (fast = more painful in my case) I dislocated my knee postpartum and am still learning to walk. 3/15
Having a newborn can be isolating. Having a newborn, losing the ability to walk or leave the house in a global pandemic is merciless. (I wonât even get into the mastitis). 4/15
But Iâm slowly putting myself back together and making my health a priority as I re-enter the workplace (Ask to see my collection of therabands, I have them in all the colors of the rainbow).
5/15

A couple etiquette things. Please do not ask how my âbreakâ was. A desk job is actually a break from caring for a tiny human who does not sleep. 6/15
Please do not exclaim how âlongâ our leave is. Yes, Twitter leave is generous by standards in the United States (and I am grateful), but pales in comparison to other places like Europe, Canada and Australia. 7/15
Please do not ask âwho is looking after the babyâ - this is not a question fathers get I promise 8/15
DO support the flexibility I need to breastfeed and normalize cameras off when needed. 10/15
And finally, while I may have had a tough time, I was (mostly) not afraid for my life based on the medical care I received as a cisgender white woman. 11/15
More women in the US are dying from pregnancy and childbirth related causes today than in the past 20 years and black women are more likely to die from conditions like hemorrhage and preeclampsia... 12/15
... even though theyâre not more likely to develop these conditions that threaten womenâs health during childbirth. Source: https://www.momsrising.org/campaigns/maternal-justice 13/15
Please join me in sending some dollars to @momrising, their mission: âWe believe that racism, misogyny, sexism, violence and all forms of hate have no place in our country.... 14/15
"And we are centered in our commitment to advancing policy and cultural change that make the world a better place for all moms and families.â FIN 15/15