5 Things I Did After Having a Baby to Recognize Myself Again

5 Things I Did After Having a Baby to Recognize Myself Again This is not normal. I am not OK, I sobbed into the phone in that heaving, full-body-cry kind of a way. My best friend, Mer, had called to check on me the day after I came home from the hospital with my daughter. An obstetrician, she had delivered my daughter herself a few days earlier.With my best friend at the helm, I couldnt have asked for a mora supported birth. In the days that followed in the hospital, however, I spent most of my time feeling completely overwhelmed. The transition to motherhood welches more radical than I had expected. When I returned from the hospital, I walked into the same house I had left just a few days before but everything felt different. Suddenly, with my daughter in tow, when I stepped into the house I had stepped into a completely new life.Three years and two kids later, I cant imagine my life without my kids, nor would I want to. I welches right that day my life is different now and the road to recognizing myself post-baby welches bumpy (to say the least).Here are five things I did to smooth out the bumps and recognize myself again, post-motherhood1. I went to therapy.I had my daughter on a Monday, came home from the hospital on a Wednesday, and was sitting with my therapist in his office on Friday at 3pm. People talk about baby blues, but I couldnt calm down. Im not ashamed to say I had postpartum depression and anxiety. Having support from a trained professional made a monumental impact on getting to a place where I could feel like myself again.2. I found new ways to enjoy old hobbies.There are few things I enjoy more than reading. Unfortunately, feedings and endless loads of newborn laundry werent exactly conducive to curling up on the couch with a great book. Listening to a great book, however, was perfect for my new routine. Audiobooks didnt just help me reisepass the time and work my way through my reading wish list. Discovering I actually had even more time to p ursue one of my favorite hobbies was a lifeline in reconciling my old life with my new one.3. I cultivated new hobbies, too.When my daughter was 7 weeks old I found myself with 2 hours of unexpected childcare on a random Tuesday afternoon. On a whim, I signed up for a barre class not even really knowing what it was. All I knew was that it was 15 minutes from my house, I wanted to get a workout in and that the class fit my time frame perfectly. I spontaneously tried something new and I absolutely loved it. So much about my life had changed with motherhood and discovering something new on my own terms was exactly what I needed.4. I invested in community.Being at home with a newborn can be isolating and I quickly realized I was happier when I spent time with other people. I made a plan to leave the house everyday and connect with other adults I met friends near their office for coffee or lunch, I signed up for mommy-and-me groups and when all else failed I talked to strangers (usually other women sitting with strollers in coffee shops or at the park). I couldnt have imagined how important the relationships I built with those new friends during this time would be. The more I relied on that community and talked to other women, the more I realized adjusting to motherhood is challenging for just about everyone and youre usually not the only mom having a hard day.5. I went back to work and I crushed it.I was nervous and emotional about the transition back to work, who isnt? Getting settled into working-mom-life was a transition, just like becoming a mother had been 5 months before. Like so many women I know, I went back to work just when I was really getting the hang of this whole mom thing. Three weeks after I returned to work I led a meeting, presenting to a room full of 25 people. Standing in front of the room to unveil a new initiative I truly felt like me again. The initiative launched and was a smashing success. Kicking butt, taking names and changing diapers di dnt just make me feel like my old self it made me feel like the best version of my new self.I dont only recognize myself 3+ years in, I recognize the growth that has made me a better version of my old self. Still passionate about the things I loved before my kids and with appreciation for my incredible community, Im a more resilient version of myself in this (not so) new chapter of my life. ---By day Randi Braun is a sales executive and by night shes the CEO Founder ofSomething Major. A career coach living in Washington, DC, Randi specializes in helping working women and mothers achieve their career goals, and has been featured inParents Magazine.