Amy Schumer gave birth to her son Gene in May. Two weeks later, Amy performed a 30-minute stand-up routine at a club. Of course folks had opinions about whether she should be back at work that soon. Amy handled it well by posting a photo of her pumping in her underwear with a caption that read, “Sending out love to the moms shaming me for doing standup last night.” Since then, Amy has done a few guest appearances and has been slowly coming back into the spotlight. But Hollywood waits for no mom and Amy is back in the trenches, having sold an original series to Hulu called Love, Beth. So Amy headed back to work, presumably full-time, and she posted the most precious photo of her and Gene napping to commemorate it:
Look at that little hand reaching up for his mom and the puppers watching over them. I love this photo, it’s just beautiful and I’m delighted Amy shared it with us. But the caption speaks volumes for only a few words. As I mentioned, Amy is the series creator for her new Hulu show, and even though television will give her more of a semblance of a routine than movies or touring, she has to wear many hats to get a show off the ground. I can see any first-time parent struggling with that in the beginning. Obviously little Gene is being well-cared for and still very connected with his mother. A lot of working moms are holding her up in the comments, assuring her the first week is the worst. There’s your average concern-trolling and subtle shade but I’m sure the trolls will come out by the time this post goes up. Which is too bad, because Amy’s expressing some real emotion here that many of the people in the comments relate to.
However, I’m not worried about Amy. I think she’s handling ignorant commenters better and better these days. In addition to sending love to her detractors, she had an excellent response to one incredibly insensitive commenter who brought up her husband’s autism. Amy had posted another adorable shot of Gene and with the caption, “Would anyone be interested in seeing a docu series of my pregnancy and birth?” The commenter said they thought a series about her journey to motherhood would be “self-serving,” but what they would like to see is, “a documentary of you discovering your mate is diagnosed with autism and how you cope with the possibility that your child will be on the spectrum … “ Instead of going ham on them, as say I would, Amy responded in the most beautiful way:
how I cope? I don’t see being on the spectrum as a negative thing. My husband is my favorite person I’ve ever met. He’s kind, hilarious, interesting and talented and I admire him. Am I supposed to hope my son isn’t like that? I will pay attention and try to provide hm with the tools he needs to overcome whatever challenges come up like all parents. I’d be disappointed if he liked the Big Bang theory and nascar not if he has ASD
I’m not saying I don’t want to see Amy dissect a fresh crop of mom shamers, but I like this new, insightful Amy very much.
Photo credit: Instagram and WENN Photos
I can’t get over how early women in the USA have to go back to work after giving birth. It must be so exhausting , my heart goes out to new Moms
I’m in the US, that first stand up I felt so bad for her. I mean I went back after 10 weeks, most I know are in 6-12 range. Contractually being obligated to do a stand up show that soon after delivery, I wanted to give her a hug, a litter of water, some nut/ granola bars and tuck her into bed. Yes “only 30 minutes” and I’m sure her son was more than well taken care of for the max 2 hours she was out of the house, but still, women need to heal just as much as they do bond.
I agree, Jadedone. One of my best friends, also a teacher, came off her 12 months maternity leave, after giving birth to her third daughter. On her second day back, we were having morning coffee and I asked her if she was back in the swing of things. She slumped in the chair, let out a huge groan and said, “Ugh. I hate being back. I should just get pregnant again and have another 12 months off.” A couple of weeks later, she came to relieve my colleague, whom I was team-teaching with. As I settled a group of students, I noticed them giggling in the corner. I went over and asked them what was so funny. They merely giggled conspiratorially again. I looked from one to the other, gasped and said to my friend, “You’re pregnant again, aren’t you?!” More giggles, only louder. She had another daughter.
In Australia, we get 12 months, and then, depending on the employer, the new mum can negotiate for a part-time return to work.
I’m so jealous of you all in countries where they actually care about real family values, which is what I consider things like adequate parental time off, affordable child care, etc to be. I was able to take 14 weeks off here in the US which is generous for most people here (my employer pays 6-weeks which is unheard of for most people, then I had 8 weeks of short-term disability). I can’t believe how far behind the US is compared to other Western countries. I hope this is something that changes in the future.
I am from Slovakia and we get 3 YEARS maternity leave! The only good thing about my country 🙂
Nay, the Tatras and halusky are also grand! 🙂
lol so the Big Bang theory is a pretty lame show I take it
I am so here for her BBT shade, omg. queen.
Wait…what’s wrong with The Big Bang Theory? 🙁
She doesn’t like it. That’s all
This cant be the first time you’ve heard criticism of that garbage show?
I was enjoying the break
I love that her dog’s name is Tatiana Maslany 🙂
I love the look of this baby.
Bahahah her comment about being more disappointed if he was into Big Bang Theory and NASCAR. Golden.
As the mother of a son with ASD, I love how she approaches this. There’s nothing “wrong” with my son. Well, he’s 12 so kind of a jackass, but that’s not ASD related lol, it’s being 12 related.
Off topic, but do you think she was pranking us with the name Gene Atell Fischer?
I cringe at that first name, but different strokes, I guess?
Move to Canada, you can either opt for 12 months or 18 months Mat leave.
I adore that sleeping photo! And her response about autism is wonderful. I was able to stay home for years with my children and it was the best time of my life. As I am approaching retirement age, (or what used to be retirement age…) I can report that those years off heavily impact my earnings for social security.
What a darling baby! I like Amy a lot. She gets trashed for the dumbest reasons. It’s so unfair, but she handles it so courageously. She looks great in that short green dress, I think.
My two kids and I are on the Spectrum. I encourage the kids to be proud of our autistic traits…BUT a word of caution…depending on the individual, the physical and/or psychological problems can be a nightmare. And there are plenty of people and/or their kids with “high-functioning” diagnoses with massive problems, so that particular label has been quite unhelpful. Anyway, it’s complex, which explains why some families can be so positive about it and others are desperate for a “cure”…and many of us are both depending on the day LOL.