Free Shipping on Aus Orders Over $99. Gift Cards Available!
Free Shipping on Aus Orders Over $99. Gift Cards Available!
Becoming a mother is an enormous transformation, physically and emotionally. Those early postpartum days can be foggy, messy, beautiful and tiresome. We are over the moon in love, meeting all our baby’s needs… so much so that we often forget the incredible marathon our body has just endured. Pregnancy and birth require all our strength and energy. And so, to acknowledge and honour that we must be gentle with ourselves and embrace a slow postpartum - an opportunity of healing, rest, rejuvenation. Yet in these modern times, rest is often overlooked and underestimated.
Devoting a window of time to rest and “cocoon” has long been practiced worldwide. You may have heard of the first 40 days, the golden month, the sitting month. Each culture has a slightly different approach or essence, but the common theme throughout, the heartbeat is the same. Rest, nourishment & support. And it is believed that deep, intentional rest in early postpartum is the foundation for thriving as a mother for years to come.
“After birth there’s a sacred window of time. A time for complete rejuvenation of a woman’s physical, mental, and spiritual health. A time for deep extended bonding with her newborn. The first 42 days set the stage for her next 42 years.” Ysha Oakes
Physical rest is one of the most beneficial and productive things we can gift ourselves in life but especially in early postpartum. We have spent nine months growing new life, we birth our baby and are left with a wound in our womb where that beautiful placenta once was. It takes on average six weeks for the womb to come back to its pre pregnancy state along with the pelvic floor. If we are up and about, cooking meals, lifting prams in and out of the car, vacuuming the floor etc we are putting pressure on these areas and this may lead to prolapse/prolong healing period. And so, just like if we broke an arm, we need to allow our body a chance to heal.
Spending those first few weeks at home in your love nest is not only wonderful for physical healing but also allows the integration of our new season. Establishing feeding, finding rhythm, getting to know our baby and our new identity without any outside distractions.
I am the first to admit that rest is easier said than done.
- Set an intention to rest every day
- Create a peaceful, quiet womb like environment
- Limit screen time
- Set firm, loving boundaries
- Aim to spend one week in bed and one month at home
- Stock your freezer/Ask friends to drop nourishing meals
- Let go of the to do list
Your only job right now is to rest, love on your baby, get to know them. This is a time to RECEIVE, accept help and allow your community to take care of you. Honour this sacred window and prioritise rest. Because when we take care of ourselves, we take care of our babies.
Lots of love,
Kate x
Hi I’m Kate, first and foremost devoted mother of three, passionate breastfeeder and doula. After reading Spiritual midwifery and then the transformative birth of my daughter, I knew I was destined to work in the realm of birth, babies and motherhood. I am incredibly passionate about traditional healing and postpartum care for the modern mama, holding her in the most sacred season of her life so she may truly bloom. My dream is for every woman to feel and believe in their power and beauty as a woman, and now as a mother.
katebloomdoula.com.au | @katebloomdoula
Comments will be approved before showing up.
