Motherhood.

Today, I am six weeks postpartum and I really wanted to share my journey with you.

I always knew I wanted to be a Mom. For the past couple years, it’s been my biggest goal. It was something I knew I was meant to do.

My son, Charlie, was born in April of this year and the journey into motherhood has been the most rewarding experience.

My pregnancy went pretty well overall. I never got morning sickness thankfully but was always super tired throughout pregnancy. The hardest part of pregnancy for me was being comfortable in the third trimester. My belly measured much bigger than normal and I gained more weight than I thought I would. That all caught up with me in the third trimester. My favorite parts about being pregnant was finding out what we were having a boy and feeling him kicking/moving around. He loved moving around and my larger belly gave him plenty of room to do so.

My labor was over 40 hours long and was pushing was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I wasn’t quite prepared for the mental and physical toughness of labor. It was hard not to be exhausted after such a long process. Each push I kept asking if he was almost here and my midwife calmly kept saying it’s getting a little bit closer. After two hours of “getting closer” I finally gave my last push and met my little boy. Feeling him on my chest right after was so surreal. I couldn’t believe he was here wiggling and breathing. I couldn’t believe that he was so perfect. He was everything I was hoping for.

The six weeks have been such a learning process. Learning to figure out what calms him, what each little cry means, and helping him grow and develop. My husband and I call him little red hulk when he turns bright red and is having his little meltdown usually because he is hungry or tired. In the first few weeks, he was so cuddly. His favorite thing was to take naps on my chest and I made sure to savor each time. Which was a good thing because now he is growing more he likes to be on his playmat kicking and playing with the hanging toys.

Each day my day is filled with gratitude, even the fussier days, for being able to be with him throughout the day and seeing his personality develop. It’s crazy how quickly he is growing and lately he has been so smiley.

The past few weeks I have been doing a little bit of light yoga on my mat with little Charlie. Yesterday, I just got cleared for all fitness so I am very excited to get back taking yoga classes, teaching, paddleboarding, hiking, etc. I know that my body is different now and I am not trying to get back “in-shape” to my old body/size. My goal with fitness is to just feel good and to have more energy. I am okay with the fact that my stretch marks may never fully fade or that my hips might be a little wider. I am excited for this new me and this new journey.

This journey to Motherhood has taken on a whole new meaning of slowing down and being in the moment. It’s also made me be more purposeful with my day and to enjoy the little things.