Becoming a mom has truly been one of the most amazing experiences, but it had a few surprises that I wasn't prepared for. I think there's so much value sharing your experience and things you've learned, so I wanted to share this with you today! I don't want you to view any of these as negative, but rather just changes you might not know!
🎈The way you used to do things will change.
I had heard this before but didn't really want to put much stock into it, as I thought I could control the majority of post baby life - and some of that is still true. However, things really do change. Sometimes it's things like the fact that you can't really get in the same amount of working out that you used to or that you can't just hop on a plane without really thinking about it.
🎈Motherhood might not always be easy to describe.
It's not that you can't find some words to describe how it is to have a baby or care for a baby, but often none of them really do it justice. You all of a sudden would do anything for this other human and you literally can't stop staring at how cute they are 😜yet you do still want to do things for yourself too - sometimes it’s hard to find the balance.
🎈There is a death and rebirth that not everyone talks about.
Some look at it like the death of the maiden self into the matron. And maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. But regardless your life is different, you’re not the same woman you were before you gave birth, you’re just not - and that’s okay (in fact it’s more than okay)❤️
🎈You might not need some of the baby gear your friends got for their kiddos.
Take the time to look a little deeper and be open to the fact that this may change as your baby comes earthside and grows. Do you need that fancy x,y,x that so and so got, that costs $$$ and isn’t actually all that great for your baby? Nahhh I’ll go simple over here❤️
🎈Your body will change.
Seriously it will. I kind of thought that although my body would be different I could go about working out (after appropriate healing time for my body) and eating the same way as before pregnancy and be able to get back to my pre-baby body. Nope. Not the case for me, hormones do funny things to the body and are differently set up for each person.
If you're a new mom, it's going to experience all the emotions and things that come along with it! Becoming a mom is a HUGE transition, but truly in the best way!
Sleep, something we know is oh so important, but in today's world it seems to be more elusive than ever! The demand of everyday life and adulting seems to be continually growing. But, do you know how important sleep actually is?!
✨Sleep is a time when the body can focus on repairing and rejuvenating itself
✨Sleep is vital for cognitive function (helps the brain process and organize information gathered when you're awake)
✨Adequate sleep is crucial for emotional stability and mental health
✨Lack of sleep is associated with a range of physical health problems
✨Sleep is important for a strong and resilient immune system
AND SO MUCH MORE!
It is important to recognize that the quantity and quality of sleep needed can vary among individuals and across different stages of life. Like right now, I’m in the trenches of having a little guy who needs to eat overnight, so I have to adjust as needed! I try to grab a nap during the day if I can or ask for help if I’m feeling rundown.
While adults typically require 7-9 hours of sleep per night, infants, children, teenagers, and older adults may need different amounts.
Chronic sleep deprivation, which occurs when an individual consistently gets less sleep than their body needs, can have detrimental effects on health and well-being. That’s why it’s so important to prioritize sleep! I know we can get caught up in binge watching a tv show or reading one more chapter of a book, but sleep plays a HUGE role in our overall health.
Establishing healthy sleep habits and prioritizing sleep as an essential part of one's daily routine can lead to improved physical and mental health, increased productivity, and a better overall quality of life.
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One thing that has changed since becoming a mom is that my brain never stops anymore. Not to be dramatic, but it can get overwhelming sometimes! Whether I’m trying to relax or sleep at night, I always have a million different thoughts running through my mind.
Sometimes you really want to sleep and yet somehow you just can't shut your mind off. It doesn't always happen when you've just had a baby, but that is definitely a time it has happened for me. I'll be laying there knowing I just need to close my eyes, but then alllllllll the things just keep popping into my mind. Did I eat that yogurt that was going to expire tomorrow? How much water did I drink today? Is my computer unplugged or plugged in? It’s always the most random thoughts!
Before giving birth if I woke up with all of the things going on in my mind I'd just throw some peace and calming essential oil on and my sleep stories from the Calm app and be good to go! But with a little one, that doesn't exactly work (think can't move your body when they're sleeping!) so it's up to my mind to slow down and get back to sleep. Sometimes I try to just focus on one simple thing to quiet my mind.
This is still a great resource to use during the day though when I’m not trying to sleep! I love to apply an oil to help calm my mind like peace and calming or lavender when I need to quiet my mind and breathe. If I have a sleeping baby on me, I can use my app quietly or try to just close my eyes and focus on being still. It can definitely be hard some days, but it’s important to find something that works best for you!
Having a baby is a journey. There are so many emotions that bubble up during this time - feelings of excitement and joy, but also feelings of anxiety and worry! The #1 thing I reminded myself daily was that it’s a normal part of pregnancy and it’s okay to feel all the things. So many women experience different emotions and each pregnancy is different.
The anticipation of birth can have a lot of different feelings show up too. These ebbs and flows in emotions continues through that postpartum time too. Especially if it is your first pregnancy, you have a lot of feelings of unknown because you don’t know what to expect. In terms of postpartum though, when does it really end?
I looked it up one day because I was curious, and there are a lot of different opinions out there to say the least! Some say it lasts always because the definition of the word postpartum is "following childbirth or the birth of young".
Others say when your kids are young, like not yet in their teen years and still others look at it more being that first year of your little one's life being the postpartum time.
No matter what time you definite postpartum as, it's definitely still a different time period in your life than has ever happened before. I truly refer to postpartum as forever because you become a different person when you become a mom.
It is important to remember to give yourself grace, ask for help when you need it and remember to slow down long enough to take each moment of the journey in - the good, the bad, and the ugly! While you are in the thick of it, the days may seem long, but they say the years fly by! And most of all mama, you aren’t alone!
The changes your body goes through from pre-pregnancy to pregnancy to birth then postpartum can be vast and vary from person to person. No matter which phase you are currently in, it is important to recognize that your body is a literal superhero - taking all of these rapid changes in stride and syncing into a new rhythm.
When you’re pregnant your body is seriously is a superhero. (I had to say this many times during my pregnancy and during labor!)
I recently got a massage by a lovely gentleman who I hadn’t had a massage by since right before I found out I was pregnant and it made me think of how much my body has changed since then.
Every woman’s body recovers differently from pregnancy and birth, which sometimes can be hard to deal with. They say if you breastfeed you’ll burn extra calories and that will help you lose the weight but really it’s not as cut and dry as that.
There’s an idea of way back (think more of that live off the land times) that when you're breastfeeding your body holds onto extra weight to make sure that you have enough umph to continue to nourish your little one if things like famine or war come and you are not able to eat as often.
From the science perspective, the hormone prolactin released during breastfeeding tends to reduce the ability to lose weight in some women. This hormone is released every time you nurse and may contribute to weight gain, especially if you are prone to gaining weight anyway.
Knowing these aspects doesn't always make it easier to deal with the fact that I have not lost the 'baby weight' (which duh, this takes time) but I like to go searching for the why behind things to understand a little bit more of what might be going on in my body.
The one area I am most confident in is FOOD. It is not that I know everything (nobody does) but food has been one of my primary tools for healing and having a magical pregnancy (truly I enjoyed being pregnant like 99% of the time), and as I recently mentioned, a BIG deal when it comes to navigating the holidays.
If you find yourself overindulging during the holiday season and you’re looking for a better way to enjoy foods and feel good stick around, I recently put together a holiday food challenge and I will be doing these throughout the upcoming year so keep an eye out for the next one!
