Did you know about Antenatal Depression?

When I was first pregnant, I didn't know what to do. So gradually I lost interest in things I usually enjoyed. My belly got bigger and I got more down, anxious and depressed. I had all these feelings but I felt alone with no support system since I moved 5 hours away from home and didn't feel fully accepted to my fiancée family. I locked myself away and just counted down the days until I gave birth to my baby girl.  If I was depressed or just upset something didn't go my way, it would may days to come unbearable or not as good as I hoped. This would last for days to weeks and my fiancée
was the sweetest and patient but I still pushed him away unknowing what I was going through.

I wish I knew I had Antenatal Depression, this is more uncommon than expected. You hear more about postpartum depression than antenatal depression due to many women don't bring it up to their health professional or feel ashamed of feeling a certain way and then it goes untreated.

Depression isn't something you can easily snap out of.  It's getting more and more common now and people are unaware  how to treat it with alternative methods. There are ways and you just have to figure out what works best for you. Not all women who are pregnant are happy, that is  misconception that people have yet to understand that it is not always a happy go lucky during the pregnancy.

There are so many symptoms for this and women are unaware that they have it because it's not discussed during pregnancy. Different articles give different symptoms but they are all the same or are similar. Be known you shouldn't be ashame to tell people how you feel because you should know you are not alone.

Second Haven is a place for women and/or parents who could come and ask for things for their children but I also want it to be a place where mothers could come and build a network. This way women don't feel ashamed and have either 1 or 10 people to talk to. Let Second Haven take the weight off you shoulders and relieve bit of stress that comes with being pregnant, raising a child or even building a future.

If you like take a look at my previous posts:

What is Second Haven?

House vs. Baby

House vs. Baby

Comparing two thing that are irreplaceable: a house and a baby.

A house can cost up to $200,000 with nothing in it but you could add anything you want and design the house in your eyes. This is something you can prepare years for and even hold off on certain things. 

Now imagine you take a look at that wonderful bundle of joy without knowing or understanding the costs. Before you know it, from birth to the age of 17, parents could spend up to $233,610 per child and some people are blessed with more than one. This doesn’t even cover college or a trade school. 

-The biggest expense is housing followed by food.

-Childcare is another big expense (I know this oh too well). Parents could spend up to $37,378 in childcare expense per child.

(if you want more details please check out this article)- This number is consistent in all the articles that I looked up.

These three things alone could put you in a hole that you cannot dig out of and constantly are in your face because you want and need to make sure your child is adequately taken care of while also making sure your other expenses are taken care of. 

I’m not trying to deter anyone from having kids. If you want kids, please go ahead but make sure you give the child every ounce of your love. These are facts that everyone should be aware of and should know they have assistance. 

Everything in this post, I relate to. When my fiancée and I decided to have a baby, we didn’t know the costs. We knew but we didn’t fully comprehend. Now that we do, it’s gotten easier and budgeting is something that you should pick up. It makes life a lot easier. 

This is the idea behind Second Haven. I want to offset the costs and make it easier for those parents. If you like to donate here’s a gofundme page.

If you have anything, you’re no longer using, get in contact with me on where to ship it. 

If you’re a parent who needs anything at all please do not hesitate to get in contact with me.

Contact: secndhvn@gmail.com

P. S. What would you like me to write a post about or would like more information about? Comment below

What is Second Haven?

Hello All!

Thank you for visiting. I decided to start a blog so I can keep track of my venture and my accomplishments.

Second Haven is basically a place you could come to and basically ask for diapers, clothes, car seats, etc. These things come from other mom's donating or even from second hand stores such as goodwill, salvation army, savers and the list goes on. Eventually I want Second Haven to expand and hopefully open up a daycare of my own. 

The reason behind this venture is because I want to help people and being a first time mom myself I wish I could go to someone during my hard times to just vent or even ask for things for my child that I couldn't afford that they needed right away. This isn't income based or based on age or your past, just ask and you shall receive. Baby items already are so expensive and not all parents will be able to afford the necessity for their child so if I am able to offset the costs just a little that could help a lot.

I chose to do this on my own then going through a organization is because there's too much noise and they don't always accept secondhand things. If parents don't mind the second hand items then why deny them access to things that could be so easy to obtained.

Right now I'm in the process of getting the word out so people could come to me with requests or even so people can donate and I can built up inventory beyond my means. I am also going to create a gofundme and began taking small steps. The gofundme would provide funds for me to go and buy items for parents as well as help with shipping costs.

P.S. if you're a mother who needs my help or would like to donate, don't hesitate to contact me. email me

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