I think there are as many post partums as there are wimyn. Each taking on their unique flavour and essence as Mothers learn their new dance with beloved baby, a tango where both partners take turns in the lead. Days melt into nights into days again, one heavy dream like haze of altered and heightened reality. It’s a beautiful phase. One that never returns unless another baby comes, and yet, that experience will differ completely. It’s an intensely magnified halo of reality, with raw emotions taking everyone in the family on a wild ride, but especially the Mother. Many insights can be gained in this period between worlds, and a Mother can learn much from gazing at her newborn and intentionally closing the energetic gap that inevitably exits upon baby’s exit from her womb and entrance into the world.

The Post Partum time has garnered a new flair over the recent few years, and with good reason. Most wimyn and communities in the west have lost touch with the sacredness of post baby arrival. It is important to nurture our Matriarchs, and for them to nurture themselves. To ensure the health of them and their families and our society, for generations unto themselves. There is no perfect way, and as we shift and evolve, we need only to have the knowledge at our fingertips, the ability to articulate our own unique needs and the courage to orchestrate that which will best serve ourselves and our families.

I too have had a few post birth experiences, from doing nothing differently (treating a miscarriage like a normal monthly bleed), to having a halo of wimyn in my community nourishing me for 30 days after Selah was born.

As I reflect at one month post birth with my son, Odin, I see another baby born in a foreign land, a strong family unit, intense love and adoration, and understanding and support from an ocean’s difference. There are aspects of this cacooning that I adore and with a third baby, I believe an ease of knowing that couldn’t be there as a first time Mother. Although physically outside my community, I am very much upheld and loved from afar by friends and family who take great care to nurture and ‘sit’ with me over email and video chats.

My post partum has been quite simple, yet nourishing and I feel much gratitude for Odin and I’s good health and strength. During pregnancy and through autonomous birth, a womyn has the opportunity to bring herself to a place of great power, which can be harnessed and grown as she integrates in the weeks and months after birth. She can become even stronger than she was, not weakened by the increased demands of family life.

JP had four days off work, including the day that Odin was born. During this time, I floated from the bed to the living room and back (in our tiny apartment), enjoying the other children in their Christmas joy. He handled the meals and brought me hot tea, warmed my body with oil massages and took the children out to play. Even as he transitioned back to work, I continued to stay in the cave with Odin and he brought the girls outside, bought groceries and took on a lot of the day to day household runnings.

I began moving my body right away as it felt good to me, light stretches, gentle Qi Gong and Tai Chi in the first week. By the second I was easing into a gentle yoga practice and took myself outside for a few walks without Odin. I also eased into visiting the gym and have thoroughly enjoyed feeling the strength and vitality of my body. Not following any ‘rules’ but gaging my own energy levels and mood, scaling back when necessary. It felt satisfying to get back in the kitchen to prepare meals for my family, to create art with the kids and keep our space clean. Odin and I have had limited to no interaction with the outside world this last month which has been very healing for my nervous system and important for his integration on our earthly plane as well. I’ve been eating differently from my family, mostly soups and warming curries, but it’s been no trouble to have varying food options available that suit all our needs.

Currently, writing these thoughts down in my fifth week with Odin, I feel creative and vital, ready to connect with the world in ways that feel satisfying and also able to soundly do the necessary day to day things. I have a grounded understanding of what feels nourishing and what drains. My patience levels inform my capabilities for that day, as by far my biggest challenge is keeping pace with the older children. I’m learning how to keep balanced in this new family of five, coming out anew, rather than trying to get back to how I was.

My passion for the post partum has evolved to value each unique birth and Mother, to see her transformation as an opportunity to be stronger than she was, and to be thankful to have the many tools at my fingertips to help make this a reality. Hail the Matriarchs in their courage and fortitude! In their grace and love shall we find peace.