Balance after Babies

​The postpartum period begins right after birth and stretches through the following six weeks. It's a beautiful time of recovery and bonding with your new little one...
 
And sometimes it's not.
 
When I look back to my first postpartum period six years ago, it seems like a beautiful dream of snuggles, bonding and adjusting to motherhood, but I also remember the unexpected physical pains and feeling so overwhelmed.
 
This time around with baby number 4, it's been a roller coaster of emotions and struggles- cloaked in that perfect newborn baby smell.
 
I started my postpartum time with 2 weeks of bed rest. Porter made a really quick entrance into the world. My water broke, and he came, all in one shot which left my with more physical challenges than the past. 
 
After the first week, it was clear that my healing was going wonderfully and I was looking forward to the following week when I could hop out of bed and jump back into my old life.
 
Well my hips don't lie, and they told me to lay the heck back down.
 
I felt so discouraged and was longing to get back to normalcy... not to mention the fact that it was almost Christmas and I had gotten very little done.
 
My parents arrived from Florida on my first day off bed rest- and the Christmas festivities began. It was a joyful time of introducing Porter to the world and celebrating Jesus's birth, but I still struggled with wanting to do more. 
 
THAT has been the conundrum of my postpartum life and my mom life in general. Every morning, I wake up with new ideas, inspiration, and desire to create… and every day gets swallowed up in a plethora of nursing sessions, homeschool lessons, diaper changes, and dishes.
One of my favorite verses of Scripture is Proverbs 13:12:
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Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
    but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”

When my dreams fall victim to the business of my life, I feel my heart drift into sadness and defeat. To avoid that pit, I find myself creating the smallest of goals… little things that I actually can accomplish during my busy week. For instance, one of my goals this year is to see one of my children’s books picked up by a prestigious publisher.  The manuscript has sat on my desk for over a year, and my query letter is ready to go- so my simple goal for the next two weeks is to compile a list of agents (week one), and submit at least 30 query letters (week 2).
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By taking small steps and stewarding breaks well, I can continue my pursuit of goals outside of finding that missing pink boot.

Until next week,
Alex