Returning to work after having a baby is hard for anyone. And that’s without a bunch of strangers jumping on the internet to criticize everything you do. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened to Jenna Dewan. (*sigh*) She just shared a bunch of sweet and intimate photos of newborn snuggles during maternity leave with baby Rhiannon, and the mom-shamers came out in full force.
The professional dancer shared several pictures from the last 7 months with Rhiannon, who she shares with fiancé Steve Kazee. “-> Bailey dethawing from maternity leave 😄,” Dewan cheekily captioned the post, referring to the character she plays on The Rookie. “Don’t miss an all new episode of @therookieabc tonight!”
Rhiannon looks perfectly snug in this carousel of photos, featuring several moments with the newborn curled up on her mama’s chest, a picture of Dewan holding her baby in an infant carrier while she does some self-care with under-eye patches, and a snap of Dewan and Rhiannon napping in bed together surrounded by three big dogs.
And while most people would be distracted by the absolutely adorable pictures of a tiny, squishy baby, others were outraged by pretty much every little thing Dewan did.
“Just a friendly baby wearing tip: the panel of the carrier should never pass the lower part of baby’s ear,” one person said. “Making sure baby’s head can fully clear the panel is how you ensure that their airway is clear and that they’re not getting into a dangerous chin to chest position which causes positional asphyxiation. Congratulations on the new baby ❤️.” While this could potentially be helpful advice, it should be noted that one picture doesn’t give you all the information on how she was holding her baby. And, like one person commented, “This is baby number 3 I’m pretty sure she knows what she’s doing.” When people don’t ask for advice, don’t feel like you have to give it!
Someone else shared, “Just a friendly reminder that pillows and blankets near baby are not safe cosleeping/bedsharing. Iv bed shared for 8.5years with mine and make sure I don’t get any blankets or pillows near them when they’re young. The Safe Sleep Seven is good ❤️”
Again, it can be helpful to point out things to moms, but sometimes it gets to be too much. When you are critiquing so much, it gets lost in the noise and only serves to make moms feel worse — which nobody wants. Let’s leave the specifics on her sleeping arrangements and more to Dewan and doctors. I promise you it’ll be fine.
Someone else commented on how “fast” Dewan is returning to work. (Although as a mom of three, I never got 7 months off postpartum.) “Do you get any time off with baby? That’s crazy,” one person wrote. “In Canada we get a year off after baby’s born. Which every mamma needs and deserves. I don’t understand why all these movie stars go back to work so soon.” That sounds nice, but here in America, we don’t have any paid maternity leave protections, so everyone has to do what they can do.
Luckily, many of the comments were nice. “Love these intimate photos. You are such an amazing mama 😍” one person wrote. Someone else said, “Awww you and that beautiful baby taking a very much needed nap with those adorable fur babies is the best thing I’ve seen today 😍”
Despite Dewan officially returning to work, this isn’t the first time she’s filmed for The Rookie since Rhiannon was born. In fact, she brought her daughter to work with her!
“Back to work… with a +1 🥰” Dewan wrote in August, sharing several pictures of herself in her firefighter uniform for the show. She breastfed her baby from the makeup chair while she was getting special effects makeup done to make it look like she had a forehead and neck injury.
In an essay for InStyle, the Step Up alum wrote about some of her intentions for the new year, which include letting go of the idea of perfectionism.
“And now, standing on the threshold of a new year, I’m not searching for perfection but for presence,” Dewan, who is also mom to 4-year-old Callum with Kazee and 11-year-old Everly with ex Channing Tatum, wrote. “And wild, no-holding-back expansion. Each fresh chapter is a gift waiting to be unwrapped. I am so grateful for my family, the love and presence of my partner, Steve, and the adventures we will have this year. I see some travel, lots of family laughs, and, most importantly, maybe a wedding finally!”
These celebrity moms have opened up about how brutal “return to work syndrome” can be.
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