A Letter to My Postpartum Self

Dear Sammy,

Girl, slow down. This phase of life is not a sprint or a jog, it is a dang walk. At a very slow pace. There is no one to return to, because that girl that you knew before pregnancy, before childbirth, she is gone. Not gone in a bad way but gone in a way that you are not going to return to her and that is absolutely okay. Take a moment and just sit with her. The new version of yourself that you are. The version that has grown, and overcome so much. The version that grew and then pushed out a whole ass beautiful baby girl. The version of you that worked so dang hard to bring another life into this world and add to your family. This version of you has been through it, but girl, you have made it to the other side.

You don’t have to be stuck. Actually, you’re not stuck now and you never were. You are not surviving, you are living.

Take a deep breath.

The dishes don’t have to be done, the laundry can wait, and you don’t have to rush around and fill every single second of your time with anything other than just enjoying the moment. You are never going to get these moments back so sit and enjoy them. Let everything else just wait.

Be present.

The postpartum that you see from people online. It’s not reality. Not your reality at least. Sure, there are some parts that you can relate to, but it isn’t your reality so stop trying to make it. You don’t have to “bounce back” because who you are now is so much better than what you were before. You are strong, brave, and capable. Your body has done the most incredible thing- growing a whole human on it’s own. The perfect morning routine? Maybe that doesn’t exist. Maybe your perfect morning routine is the one filled with running late every now and then, rushing around, and grabbing coffee on the go. Maybe it’s the one that is slow and involves waking up on time, drinking water before coffee, stretching, and enjoying a moment of peace before the day starts. Or maybe it’s a combination of both of those, enjoying the morning and then rushing because you enjoyed it so much. Either way, each day is going to be different, and that is okay. You are not failing if you don’t have it all together. The reality is no one does- they all just fake it until they make it. You only see a highlight reel, don’t get so caught up on that.

You don’t have to prove anything to anyone. If you’re happy, if it makes sense to you, if you feel like you’re thriving. Let them just be. Like I said before you’re a whole new person and you’ve got a lot to figure out about this new version of you, help her grow, even if it doesn’t make sense to anyone else.

You are doing it.

The days you have felt like or feel like you are not. You are. Whether you are running, walking, dancing, or crawling, you are moving forward and you are doing it. Keep going forward.

Please remember, most of all, you deserve this. This life you have created. This family you have. The things you are working towards. You have all of it because you deserve it.

Be gentle with yourself-give yourself the grace.

I love you.

XOXO,

Sammy