I just had a baby. (Slowing Down Time Postpartum)

I’m not Einstein, but I can tell you that time is relative. When first introduced to the theory of relativity, it seems a bit complex and nuanced, but it actually is applicable to everyday life, especially for the postpartum time period.

Ask almost any parent with children over age 10 and they’ll tell you the old saying of “the days are long but the years are short” in relation to the sleepless nights of the early postpartum period. We blink, and weeks or even months have flashed by, but when we’re covered in spit up, crying for sleep, and feeling isolated, time seems to drag on.

The words that others use tend to dictate for us how we’re perceiving our own time, and I think recognition of that can actually help us utilize time more effectively. We comment about how someone “just” had a baby, or they had a baby “a while ago”, and this seems to dictate our willingness in general to help “new” parents. Well I’d like to tell you that if you’re less than two years postpartum, you just had a baby.

My acupuncturist informed me that prior to age two, mother and child are actually treated as one. Prior to two years, your body is still dealing with the biomechanical and hormonal changes associated with having been pregnant (especially if you haven’t addressed these changes intentionally (I’m saying to go see your chiropractor and pelvic floor PT and run some baseline labs!)). And prior to two years of age, your baby still typically requires a decent amount of your attention (right?!).

We talk about #slowisfast here, and emphasizing that the slower that you take your postpartum recovery, the faster you end up being healed and stronger postpartum. But what about utilizing the theory of relativity to simply recognize that sometimes time appears to move slower, and that time is a relative thing. Relatively speaking, two years can be a long time: when you’re talking about how long it’s been since you’ve seen a friend, two years is quite a while. When you’re talking about recent research, two years is still on the forefront. When you’re referencing postpartum, two years is NOT THAT LONG AT ALL.

The easiest way to slow down time is to be present in it. Pay attention to your surroundings. Use your five senses to experience what’s happening in the here and now rather than thinking or worrying about the future or dwelling on the past. Being in the moment allows you to experience the phenomenon of ever-passing time, whether it’s moving fast or slow.

Lindsay Mumma, DC @birthfit_nc @trianglecrc