I Run Like A Girl

I’m overjoyed to share the arrival of baby Natalie! The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of changes, first moments, learning, recovery, frozen meals, and one-day Amazon purchases. Natalie has brought so much joy into my life, and even through all the challenges of being a new mom, the last few weeks have been incredibly sweet.

I’m writing this at six weeks postpartum. I originally planned to blog two weeks postpartum, but just when I thought of content to share, a new emotion or change would come up. Things have finally started to stabilize, and I’m excited to share my first motherhood update.

Birth story

But first, I want to share Natalie‘s birth story, which thankfully was a positive experience and included a funny, memorable moment.

I was admitted to the hospital, and for the first 12 hours of labor, I was making pretty slow progress with mild contractions. By hour 14, I was 5 cm dilated and decided to get an epidural as my contractions got stronger.

After the epidural (which helped so much with the pain), I started to feel immense pressure in my pelvic floor during each contraction. The nurse who took care of me went out for lunch, but Joe was next to me, and I remember telling him, “I feel like the baby is coming out.”

When the nurse came back, I told her the same thing, but she didn’t do anything at first because my contractions were still a few minutes apart. By the third time I insisted the baby was coming out, she checked my dilation…

“You’re crowning!” the nurse said.

She called the doctor into the room, and 10 other hospital staff members entered at once. It was a bit chaotic as the doctor took over, and I quickly maneuvered into pushing position. I only had to push one time as they delivered Natalie and put her on my chest.

It was a moment I’ll never forget, filled with surprise and so much emotion. I was so happy to finally meet my baby girl.

It’s funny that they hooked me up to so many monitors and were constantly running tests, but no one saw a baby’s head sticking out of me! Looking back, it’s a funny story, and I’m just grateful for the successful delivery.

Postpartum update

After we brought Natalie home, Joe and I were thrown into parenting duties. I would describe the first few weeks as survival mode. Everything was new to us as we were running on adrenaline. Attempting to figure out a breast pump for the first time on 3 hours of sleep was quite the challenge.

Recovering from the birth has been a journey. After the epidural wore off, I felt like I had been hit by a car. I feel like postpartum recovery is not talked about enough! On top of physical recovery, I’ve been dealing with the roller coaster of hormones that come with postpartum, which has affected my anxiety.

Six weeks later, I’m in a much better spot. I’m feeling better physically, and I’m just starting to feel more like myself emotionally. Although from talking to other mothers, 6 weeks is just the start to postpartum recovery, and I know it’s going to take months to fully feel like myself again.

Week by week, the survival mode mindset faded, and parenting has become much more manageable and enjoyable. Joe and I have a good rhythm in splitting duties, which helps us take breaks throughout the day and night. It helps that Natalie is a relatively easy baby as she sleeps and eats well.

I’ve also started to reintroduce exercise into my routine. I followed the six-week recovery period when you’re not supposed to exercise, so over the last few weeks, I focused on diaphragmatic breathing, stretches, and walking. Despite the low intensity, setting aside time every day for this really helped my mental health. In past posts, I talked about how my workout philosophy is centered around getting movement, and that was my mindset during the recovery period while listening to my body and getting plenty of rest. That said, I’m so excited to be cleared to work out again and to start rebuilding my strength.

I’m beyond grateful that Joe and I are taking parental leave from work at the same time. Having this time together has been such a blessing. As parenting becomes easier, this period feels more like a staycation. We take a family walk every day, which is one of my favorite things that I look forward to. I love chatting away with Joe while Natalie drifts off to sleep in the stroller. I treasure simple moments like these.

The main thing I’ve had to learn is being more flexible with time. Before Natalie, I was quite structured in how I spent my time. But now, every day is unpredictable, and I can really only do things between feedings/naps. Some days I’ll check off very little from my to-do list, and I’ve learned to be okay with it and adjust my definition of being productive.

Another thing I had to learn was letting myself fully relax when Joe took care of Natalie. I learned early on that breaks are so important to avoid burnout, and I feel we have a balanced routine now. I remember how accomplished I felt leaving the house to go to Walmart for the first time by myself. Oh, how I treasure every minute of free time now!

I’m fully embracing this slow, chaotic season of life. I feel so grateful for all the blessings this year, and I hope your holidays are filled with joy and love. Thank you for reading this post. Happy holidays!!!