Jeannie Mai Reveals Mom Struggle That’s ‘More Difficult Than Giving Birth’

Jeannie Mai is opening up about the struggles of being a new mom. The Real co-host has been documenting her parenting journey as a first-time mom on her social media pages, as well as in-depth in her YouTube channel Hello Hunnay. Mai welcomed her daughter Monaco Mai Jenkins in January 2022 with her husband, Jeezy. The two married in an intimate ceremony in their Atlanta mansion in the Spring of 2021. Mai swore off children for much of her adult life until she met and began dating Jeezy. She’s now reveling in motherhood and its challenges.

Mai is reflecting on breastfeeding in an update to fans. The 43-year-old described the process as being more “difficult than giving birth.” She says she’s tried everything from reading books, to conferring with a breastfeeding nurse and more to try and master it. “The day I gave birth, the nurse put Monaco to my breast and I got emotional about the colostrum that my breast naturally produced. I couldn’t believe nature took place so fast!,” she explained. “I fell in love at first latch. I’ve never felt anything like that bond before, looking down at my body providing for this sweet face. I became obsessed.”

Since then, she said that things have become a little more complicated and she’s struggling with producing enough milk to feed her newborn. “Two months later, I STILL don’t make enough milk to feed my baby,” she wrote. The experience has taken a toll on her mental health. “I had to catch myself because it actually got to my mental, and things started to feel dark. Comparing myself to other moms, frustrated from the ups and down of pumping an ounce one day, nothing the next..and this is ON TOP of all the anxiety this journey can bring.”

But Mai isn’t giving up and simply wants to share her journey with other new moms and moms who have had the same issues to let them know they are not alone. Mai will continue to chronicle her motherhood journey for her fans. 

Mai previously took to instagram to detail her postpartum experience a few weeks after giving birth. “While being a new mom is the most exhilarating moment I have ever experienced in my life— nothing prepared me for postpartum. NOTHING,” she captioned an Instagram post on of her in a bra and shorts. “No book I’ve read, advice I’ve gotten, that could have compiled ALL the things I’d need just to sit, lay down, walk, or even hold our baby. I got so much respect for moms. Next level. I’m in my first week of postpartum and I definitely don’t feel ready for recovery. That feels like a long time away ’cause I feel like my body is still reacting from what just happened.”