Avie Herman, Postpartum Doula
Bathurst and Clark L4J 3C2 Thornhill, ON, Canada

Pregnant? Recently had a baby? Don't miss this Instagram LIVE tomorrow! Bracha and I will be chatting about Perinatal Mental Health, including what's normal, when to get help and where to find it! I'll also be sharing my own experience with Prenatal Anxiety in my first and second pregnancies. ... For more support and education, join Your Motherhood Community with Avie Herman

Bassie does a weekly Reality Check every Tuesday in her stories and this week she asked me to shed some light on Postpartum Realities which can be so different from our expectations! Follow @avie.herman_postpartum.doula for more postpartum and mom life #realtalk!

I'm over the idea that we all need to love our bodies all the time. But we do need to take care of ourselves. I've been thinking about why it's so much easier to care for my children than for myself. Other than the obvious, that our children's needs can be louder and feel more urgent than our own. ... I realized that it's because we adore our children and want what's best for them. Because of that, caring for them just comes naturally, doesn't it? After a lifetime of conditioning from companies that profit from us wanting to change our bodies, so many of us can't stand ourselves. And you just cannot take good care of something you hate. Whether or not we should be aiming to change our bodies at all is a conversation for another day. But even if you don't want to look exactly how you do now in the long term, the first step has to be to accept that this is what your body looks like right now, today. To appreciate everything it has been through and accomplished to get to this point. To be grateful for everything it allows you to do. Only when we do this, can we really take good care of ourselves. Then we can nourish ourselves and give ourselves the movement and rest we need. I'm still working on this. Some days are easier than others. But I'll get there eventually.

Where you surprised by how long it took you to recover after giving birth?

Want to make sure you're following all the latest babywearing safety recommendations? Check out my Babywearing Safety Checklist, now available as a free download when you join my mailing list! You'll get instant access to the download, plus my tips and support in your inbox!... https://www.avieherman.com/join-mailing-list

Asking for a friend.

Just kidding, they'll never leave you alone. Like for more tips that got left out of the parenting books!

It takes so. much. work. just to keep kids fed, clothed and safe. And then there's making sure they're healthy, happy, well-adjusted and can meet their full potential. It a lot! Loving them? Super easy. Caring for them? Not so much. And that's okay. It's normal. It's hard work and we don't need to love every minute of it.... Let me know if you agree!