Less than two weeks ago, I gave birth to my second child. Julian Bronson Aquin-Haase (sorry kid, about that long and impossible last name) joined our family on November 14 after a few sleepless days of back and forth to the hospital.
After a long recovery for me and a big adjustment to our lives when Audrey was born two years ago, Steve and I decided "winging" our first few weeks as a four person family might not be wise.
We did a LOT around our place to make it feel more comfortable. We turned our storage room into an artroom so Audrey would have a fun spot to play in, we decluttered a full carload of stuff, we asked my mother come and stay with us for a few weeks (thanks mom, you are a true saint) and I made the decision not to teach or do much work until January.
I told myself that after months of insomnia, heartburn and general pregnancy malaise I would use these first few weeks to rest and embrace any of the physical aftermath of labour as a chance to hang out with this new little person.
In short, I was going to be the postpartum self-care queen.
The thing is, this time around was different.
I left the hospital 7 hours after giving birth. Most of the pain and discomfort I experienced after having Audrey simply didn't exist this time around.
I feel good. I can wear my old clothes -not just the prenatal yoga pants I was living in for months.
I can eat and exercise and drink caffeinated beverages again.
In other words, I feel like myself for the first time in a LONG time.
And, if I am being honest, that means having to keep an eye on my tendency to dive into the Yang activities of life full throttle (Yang energy is the warming, creative, active half of the circle while Yin is more cool, nourishing and grounding half).
And I know a lot of you probably feel the same.
If you have listened to my podcast on self-care then you know that we need two forms of it in order to realize a better picture of health.
Sometimes you need more Yang types of care to get motivated and push past our self-imposed obstacles and grow as human beings.
At other times (like I don't know, say, after welcoming a new baby into your life) you may need to embrace more Yin forms, slowing down for restoration and creating comfort so you can hold this big transition in your heart and mind.
This is as much a reminder to you as it is to me, so if you feel your self-care routine could use a tune-up , here are a few points to consider:
For more ideas and a deeper dive on self-care. Listen to my podcast