Blog
First Steps To Postpartum Recovery
- April 11, 2020
- Posted by: Lencola Green
- Category: Uncategorized

From the moment of conception there is no doubt your body changes drastically especially when you deliver your baby and placenta. Hormones trigger many imbalances and fluctuations making you feel like a hurricane just hit you, no matter how much you plan.
If you are one of the lucky women, your physical appearance will bounce back to normal but we know this doesn’t mean you have regained functionality. You may find yourself in pain, constantly urinating, constipated, poor digestion, unable to cope, mad at the world, overwhelmed, looking for answers and wondering if you are going to feel this way for the rest of your life. Creating a balanced recovery plan touching on all areas of your life is crucial after having a baby.
[pullquote style=”left”]”Lack of self-care within the first six months of childbirth can affect the next 40 years of your life.”[/pullquote]
In the USA, it is common after delivery for you to go home with minimal health advice. Your baby gets a wellness check within a few days and you see your OB/GYN in six weeks and are usually cleared for activity. But we are missing care for hormonal imbalances and other common symptoms mothers of newborns experience. It becomes your responsibility to pay attention and question anything abnormal.
A holistic approach and organizing your life allows you to regain control of your life and body by recognizing when you need help and learning how to not accept these changes as your new normal. Read on to learn some simple things to help you get and keep you on track and balanced.
There are 15 major component of daily life everyone needs to balance. Your quality of life may seem diminished when they are unbalanced. Review the list below. Order them from “needs the most work” to “needs the least amount of work.” This helps you find clarity and identify your pain areas.
Most can be deeply personal making them hard to face. Acknowledging and visualizing your daily needs, wants and desires is the first step to making them reality. Only after you identify the areas needing the most work, can you begin to set transformative goals and find satisfaction. Honestly evaluate connections in your life components. Example: perhaps your nutrition or partner bond is suffering because of poor time management or emotional health.
Components To Life:
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Physical Health (pain, illness, injury)
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Emotional Health (happiness, sadness, stress)
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Environment (living and work conditions)
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Financial (abundance, debt, income, bills, savings)
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Leisure/Fun (vacation, dining, television, social gatherings)
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Friends/Family (children, relatives, quality and quantity time, interpersonal connections)
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Partner/Significant Other (communication, alone and together time, depth of bond, intimacy)
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Purpose/Career (fulfillment, satisfaction, motivation)
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Personal Growth (education, skill development, culture)
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Spiritual Growth (empathy, emotional quotient, intrapersonal reflection, inward beauty)
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Time Management (procrastination, distractions, asking for help)
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Physical Activity (exercise, playtime, strength training, massage)
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Nutrition (food, cooking, supplements, healthy choices)
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Beauty Routine (outward care, clothing, hair, skin, nails)
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Chores (dishes, dusting, vacuuming, laundry, neatness)
Values:
After prioritizing your life components, figure out the values driving your decision-making. Knowing this provides clarity for achieving your goals. Mothers have many time constraints: feedings, play-dates, activities, school, baths, bedtimes, cooking, cleaning. It seems there is never enough time to get things done.
Establishing your driving values puts your life on track, helps you meet your goals and minimize distractions. This allows you to focus on truly meaningful tasks leading you to find your personal truth and purpose in all your actions.
Make a list of your core values. Look up their definitions. Prioritize your list and write statements for each describing how that core value makes your feel or how you feel when they are taken away. Values change and grow with us, so pick ones resonating with you as well as aspirational ones.
Example:
Freedom
Fulfillment
Happiness
Warmth
Abundance
Openness
Financial Independence
Adventure
Influence
Spontaneity
Youthfulness
Health
Value Statements:
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Freedom makes me happy.
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I am fulfilled when I help others.
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The feeling of happiness radiates warmth.
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Openness in space and heart allows me to not feel cloistered and trapped.
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Financial independence allows me to foster abundance and spontaneity.
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My health keeps me youthful and energized.
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Youthfulness allows me to embark on adventures.
You can figure out how to ground yourself in any situation by finding your values.
Check out the amended list below or the original from https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2004/11/list-of-values/ and use some of their other materials to help guide you.
[one_fourth first=]
Abundance
Acceptance
Accessibility
Accomplishment
Accountability
Accuracy
Achievement
Acknowledgement
Activeness
Adaptability
Adoration
Advancement
Adventure
Affection
Affluence
Aggressiveness
Agility
Alertness
Altruism
Amazement
Ambition
Amusement
Anticipation
Appreciation
Approachability
Approval
Art
Articulacy
Artistry
Assertiveness
Assurance
Attentiveness
Attractiveness
Audacity
Availability
Awareness
Awe
Balance
Beauty
Being the best
Belonging
Benevolence
Bliss
Boldness
Bravery
Brilliance
Buoyancy
Calmness
Camaraderie
Candor
Capability
Care
Carefulness
Celebrity
Certainty
Challenge
Change
Charity
Charm
Chastity
Cheerfulness
Clarity
Cleanliness
Clear-mindedness
Cleverness
Closeness
Comfort
Commitment
Community
Compassion
Competence
Competition
Completion
Composure
Concentration
Confidence
Conformity
Congruency
Connection
Consciousness
Conservation
Consistency
Contentment
Continuity
Contribution
Control
Conviction
Conviviality
Coolness
Cooperation
Cordiality
Correctness
Country
Courage
Courtesy
Craftiness
Creativity
Credibility
Cunning
Curiosity
Daring
Decisiveness
Decorum
Deference
Delight [/one_fourth][one_fourth second=]
Dependability
Depth
Desire
Determination
Devotion
Devoutness
Dexterity
Dignity
Diligence
Direction
Directness
Discipline
Discovery
Discretion
Diversity
Dominance
Dreaming
Drive
Duty
Dynamism
Eagerness
Ease
Economy
Ecstasy
Education
Effectiveness
Efficiency
Elation
Elegance
Empathy
Encouragement
Endurance
Energy
Enjoyment
Entertainment
Enthusiasm
Environmentalism
Ethics
Euphoria
Excellence
Excitement
Exhilaration
Expectancy
Expediency
Experience
Expertise
Exploration
Expressiveness
Extravagance
Extroversion
Exuberance
Fairness
Faith
Fame
Family
Fascination
Fashion
Fearlessness
Ferocity
Fidelity
Fierceness
Financial independence
Firmness
Fitness
Flexibility
Flow
Fluency
Focus
Fortitude
Frankness
Freedom
Friendliness
Friendship
Frugality
Fulfillment
Fun
Gallantry
Generosity
Gentility
Giving
Grace
Gratitude
Gregariousness
Growth
Guidance
Happiness
Harmony
Health
Heart
Helpfulness
Heroism
Holiness
Honesty
Honor
Hopefulness
Hospitality
Humility
Humor
Hygiene
Imagination
Impact
Impartiality
Incisiveness
Independence
Individuality [/one_fourth][one_fourth third=]
Industry
Influence
Ingenuity
Inquisitiveness
Insightfulness
Inspiration
Integrity
Intellect
Intelligence
Intensity
Intimacy
Intrepidness
Introspection
Introversion
Intuition
Intuitiveness
Inventiveness
Investing
Involvement
Joy
Judiciousness
Justice
Keenness
Kindness
Knowledge
Leadership
Learning
Liberation
Liberty
Lightness
Liveliness
Logic
Longevity
Love
Loyalty
Majesty
Making a difference
Marriage
Mastery
Maturity
Meaning
Meekness
Mellowness
Meticulousness
Mindfulness
Modesty
Motivation
Mysteriousness
Nature
Neatness
Nerve
Non-conformity
Obedience
Open-mindedness
Openness
Optimism
Order
Organization
Originality
Outdoors
Outlandishness
Outrageousness
Partnership
Patience
Passion
Peace
Perceptiveness
Perfection
Perkiness
Perseverance
Persistence
Persuasiveness
Philanthropy
Piety
Playfulness
Pleasantness
Pleasure
Poise
Polish
Popularity
Potency
Power
Practicality
Pragmatism
Precision
Preparedness
Presence
Pride
Privacy
Proactivity
Professionalism
Prosperity
Prudence
Punctuality
Purity
Rationality
Realism
Reason
Reasonableness
Recognition
Recreation
Refinement
Reflection
Relaxation
Reliability [/one_fourth][one_fourth fourth=]
Relief
Religiousness
Reputation
Resilience
Resolution
Resolve
Resourcefulness
Respect
Responsibility
Rest
Restraint
Reverence
Richness
Rigor
Sacredness
Sacrifice
Sagacity
Saintliness
Sanguinity
Satisfaction
Science
Security
Self-control
Selflessness
Self-reliance
Self-respect
Sensitivity
Sensuality
Serenity
Service
Sexiness
Sexuality
Sharing
Shrewdness
Significance
Silence
Silliness
Simplicity
Sincerity
Skillfulness
Solidarity
Solitude
Sophistication
Soundness
Speed
Spirit
Spirituality
Spontaneity
Spunk
Stability
Status
Stealth
Stillness
Strength
Structure
Success
Support
Supremacy
Surprise
Sympathy
Synergy
Teaching
Teamwork
Temperance
Thankfulness
Thoroughness
Thoughtfulness
Thrift
Tidiness
Timeliness
Traditionalism
Tranquility
Transcendence
Trust
Trustworthiness
Truth
Understanding
Unflappability
Uniqueness
Unity
Usefulness
Utility
Valor
Variety
Victory
Vigor
Virtue
Vision
Vitality
Vivacity
Volunteering
Warmheartedness
Warmth
Watchfulness
Wealth
Willfulness
Willingness
Winning
Wisdom
Wittiness
Wonder
Worthiness
Youthfulness
Zeal
[/one_fourth]
Goals:
You have recognized your priorities, deficits and values. Now you can set your goals. Doing this, you may find your values have changed. This is not a bad thing. For instance, you might value desserts or dining out and have a goal to become a body builder. It requires routine and a strict diet to meet your body composition goals, so you will have to reconcile how you value carefree meals with body building. Your values are guidelines not rules to govern your life, though some are less negotiable. Be open to change as you proceed.
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Make a list of goals to help you balance the 15 areas of your life
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Pick the top 3 areas needing help
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Create 10 goals to help you improve these areas
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Refine each goal like a project manager by listing each step to reach your goal
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Focus on and complete each step
You may find some steps take longer than expected but consistency is key. Remain focused and committed to achieving your goals, step by step. Don’t get lost in the process. Change is never easy – the rewards are worth your diligence. If you need encouragement or advice along the way, book an appointment with Lencola or attend a live Core Care Priorities workshop.
QUICK POSTPARTUM RECOVERY GUIDE

Author:Lencola

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