Annamaria Papayova
Annamaria is a mother to Leo (born in December 2022) and a life coach, helping mothers discover and nurture their and their child’s uniqueness and purpose in life through Human Design.
While she is a beginner in mothering, she has years of experience in supporting women to come back home to their authentic self.
She is now deeply immersed in being a mama to her baby boy and navigating the waves of postpartum with self-compassion.
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Find Annamaria on @annamariapapayova
HOW WAS YOUR POSTPARTUM EXPERIENCE?
On one hand it was nourishing and healing, on the other hand overwhelming and challenging. We kept the 40 days postpartum sacred and did not let anyone into our bubble. It really allowed us to get to know each other in this new dynamic and bond.
WHAT DID YOU FIND MOST CHALLENGING?
The raw reality of taking care of a newborn and functioning with almost no sleep. There were times I felt so alone in this - despite hubby literally taking care of everything so that I could entirely focus on healing myself and feeding baba. Mothering can be very lonely - it's the long dark nights that gave me a lot of anxiety in the first week and half.
“REDISCOVERING WHO YOU ARE:
It will take time. You didn’t only give birth to a newborn, but also to yourself as a mama. You are stepping into a new realm of your being and it can be and feel all kinds of things. Be gentle with yourself - just as gentle as you are with your baba.”
HOW DID YOU PREPARE FOR YOUR POSTPARTUM?
By doing Saima's Radical Birth Ed program, having a doula, having lots of preparation and conversation with hubby, batch cooking and filling the freezer with nourishing foods, gathering friends into our village, setting healthy boundaries with family members in advance.
IF YOU WERE TO DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WOULD DO DIFFERENTLY, WHAT LESSONS DID YOU TAKE AWAY FROM YOUR PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE?
I believe we did the best we could and reflecting on my early postpartum I cannot say I have any regrets. One thing I would add though is having a person I can call anytime with any doubts, questions, no matter how silly or small my concern is.
WHAT ARE YOUR 3 TOP TIPS THAT YOU WOULD PASS ON TO MOTHERS SOON TO BE POSTPARTUM?
1) prep food in advance and stock up the kitchen/pantry
2) create a village and allow yourself to ask for help
3)allow yourself to slow down and rest as much as possible