In my years supporting women along their conception journey and mothers all throughout motherhood, one thing has become abundantly clear. There is a cycle to our becoming. While each stage might look a bit different for each of us, we each have an ebb and flow to every season of motherhood; each one leaving us touched and changed than ever before.

Setting boundaries with our families can be such a tricky and confusing road to navigate especially once you are already with baby in arms. (Best to be as proactive as possible, if possible.) We’re all too often stuck in a pattern/dynamic with our family that we’ve agreed to over the years (even without knowing), that once we become Mamas, might not fit us appropriately anymore. We’ve outgrown it and it's time for a change.

For a new mother, overwhelmed by her emotions and experience, asking “How are you?” might be just the out she needs to not talk about her real feelings. Try these questions instead.

Our postpartum bodies bring up such mixed emotions - gratitude for the baby they birthed yet also frustration at it’s appearance. Back bounce culture is brutal. Yet our bodies are the physical representation of all the ways in which we’ve changed since becoming a mother.

It isn't about "knowing what to do" all the time, or feeling confident in your decisions all the time. Motherhood is about the unknown, the in between, the mixed up feelings and thoughts. It's about the push-pull.