What nobody tells you about postpartum far from home
No grandmothers ten minutes away, none of your food, none of your language at the hospital. And still, it can be done.
When she was born my mom was eleven thousand kilometres away. I had known for months and still, the first night at home, it hit me as if I had just found out.
I am not writing this for pity. I am writing it because I would have liked to read it before.
Three things that helped
A neighbour who brought soup without asking. Video calls at bath time. And accepting that asking for help, in another language and with a baby in your arms, is also a kind of courage.