This article originally appeared on 09.13.17
Embarrassing stains on your T-shirt, sniffing someone’s bum to check if they have pooped, the first time having sex post-giving birth — as a new mom, your life turns upside-down.
Illustrator Ingebritt ter Veld and Corinne de Vries, who works for Hippe-Birth Cards, a webshop for birth announcements, had babies shortly after one another.
In the series “#ThingsOnlyMomsKnow” Ingebritt and Corinne depict the reality of motherhood — with all the painful, funny, and loving moments not always talked about.
1. Pee-regnant.
All illustrations by Ingebritt ter Veld. Reprinted here with permission.
2. How (not) to sleep.
3. Cry baby.
4. The new things that scare you…
5. …and the new things that give you the creeps.
6. Being a new mom can get a little … disgusting.
7. And every mom has experienced these postpartum horror stories.
8. There are many, many memorable firsts.
9. Getting to know your post-baby body is an adventure.
10. Pumping ain’t for wimps.
11. You become very comfortable with spit-up. Very comfortable.
12. Your body, mind, and most importantly, heart, will expand in ways you didn’t know possible.
This story first appeared on Hippe Birth Cards and is reprinted here with permission.