Mom guilt was very real for Cameran Eubanks when she first had her daughter Palmer, who is now 3 years old. The former reality star, 37, revealed exclusively to Us Weekly that she didn’t instantly connect with her then-newborn.
“It makes you feel so guilty because you love that little child, but you’re just like, ‘Who are you? I don’t really know you. Am I supposed to feel like I know you?’” The One Day You’ll Thank Me: Essays on Dating, Motherhood and Everything in Between author told Us’ Christina Garibaldi and Stroller in the City’s Brianne Manz.
Luckily at the eight-week postpartum mark, things turned around for Eubanks.
“Around eight weeks, she started to smile at me and I started to get some sleep. I think the no sleep thing really F’s with you. I mean, it messes up your brain chemistry,” the Southern Charm alum explained. “I think there’s a reason Navy Seals do sleep deprivation as a form of training. When she started sleeping through the night, everything changed.”
Eubanks also opened up about the emotional roller coaster she went through after giving birth.
“I definitely had some pretty severe baby blues and postpartum anxiety. I did not want to leave her. I could not let her out of my sight,” the former Real World told Us. “I was constantly worried if something was going to happen to her.”
For moms experiencing similar anxiety, the author advised: “It’s hormones. It’s totally normal. You have to be able to separate yourself and on a logic level, know this is normal. This happens to most women. The ones that it happens to that don’t talk about it, they just don’t talk about it because they don’t want to be stigmatized or seem weak. But I think it’s actually more common to feel that way than to not feel [that way.]”
Catch Moms Like Us every Thursday on Us Weekly’s YouTube channel at 3 p.m. ET. Eubanks’ book, One Day You’ll Thank Me: Essays on Dating, Motherhood, and Everything In Between, is on stands now.
