Diane Farr talks about the ’slow burn’ of motherhood

Every pregnant woman knows that unsolicited anecdotes from total strangers are as much a given as heartburn and swollen ankles.  Every once in a while, however, the anecdote is spot-on.  Numb3rs’ Diane Farr knows that better than anyone, and she recently shared the birth story of her son Beckett Mancuso, 8-months, as part of the ‘Every Baby Has A Story’ campaign.

So, when I was pregnant, a woman came up to me and said ’sometimes after birth, there’s a slow burn…for the light that goes on and makes you think that motherhood is just the greatest thing.’  And I thought ‘You’re crazy!  I’m so excited to have a baby!’  And a good friend of mine was pregnant at the same time and she was very trepidacious about having a baby.  And the second my baby came out, I was so blown away by the amount of fear…by the amount of fear of anything that can happen to this person (that) would ruin me.  That my entire happiness was dependent on his.

It took about six months for the fear to calm down, that he was going to stay with me, that he was part of my life and that his life was going to make it from that little tiny place he was kept in the hospital to my life.  And the friend of mine that was so nervous throughout her pregnancy was like ‘Oh my God, this is perfect!’ 

So I have a theory now that if you’re really ready to have a baby and you’re really happy to be pregnant, there’s a little bit of a slow burn once the baby comes.  And if you’re crapping your pants the whole time during gestation, it’s amazing, from the first second you start. 

Beckett is the first child for Diane, 38, and her husband Seung Yong Chung.

Every parent loves to share their birth story, and celebrities are no different.  The March of Dimes recently unveiled its ‘Every Baby Has A Story’ campaign, where you can also share your own baby story or read some of the 1,175 baby stories that have already been posted. ‘Every Baby Has a Story” is a new grassroots and integrated media project celebrating babies, those born healthy as well as those who need help to survive and thrive, launched by the March of Dimes.