Rest, Especially in Postpartum, is OK

After I had my first daughter, I acted as though I did not just through a major physical event. 

I kept going on with my normal activities - walking around the house, going up and down stairs, cooking, cleaning, and on and on.

A person I followed on Instagram, who also had a baby around the same time, talked about how she did the practice of the 5-5-5 Rule, which is:

First, resting in bed for the first five days.

Second, doing activities in bed for the next five days.

Third, doing some light activity around the bed for the next five days.

I also learned that, in many cultures around the world, people allow themselves to rest for the first 30-40 days after giving birth.

I remember reading these practices and thinking:

These practices sound really nice and lovely…

And I don’t need that. OR maybe, I CAN’T do that.

You might resonate with this.

I did things VERY differently in my second postpartum, and I have Expecting and Empowered to thank for that.

I downloaded their app and did their Cesarean recovery program after I had my planned Cesarean birth. 

This app literally helped me to slow down. It gave me SO much perspective about HOW MUCH I needed to slow down after giving birth.

Looking back on my first postpartum, I see I was in denial - of what I had just gone through after giving birth; that my life looked different now; and that *I* was different now.

I am so grateful I slowed down in my second postpartum - to soak in every sweet newborn moment; to have compassion for the physical - and emotional - transformation I just went through; and to allow myself to have the rest I needed. 

Rest is necessary. Rest is healing and powerful. It is OK to rest.

I am a better person - and parent - when I allow myself rest. I bet you feel the same way, too.