A new role
Becoming a mother is a major change in your life. Your life suddenly looks completely different, which can really throw you off-balance. Not only are you recovering from pregnancy and giving birth, but you’re also responsible for your baby’s wellbeing 24 hours a day – a baby with a different rhythm and needs to yours. You have to adapt your own needs accordingly, but how do you do that? After all, your baby can’t tell you what’s best for him or her. In addition, having a child is often accompanied by changes such as getting married, renovations or moving house. Some women are also still mourning an earlier miscarriage, or had a traumatic birth, or lost a family member or their partner during this time.
Your own path
Hopefully that feeling that everyone talks about, the feeling of being on cloud nine with your new baby, will help you to navigate these changes more smoothly. But by no means all new mothers experience that ‘cloud nine’ feeling. People used to live in extended families where others showed you how to take care of a baby as well as supporting you. You often had experience looking after a little brother or sister before you yourself became a mother, or at the very least you’d seen your mother or aunt do it. These role models are now much less common, and you’re free to – but also forced to – find your own path.
A helping hand
Given all of this, it’s hardly surprising that you might not be sure how to get your life back on track. I offer easily accessible help, which often takes no more than five sessions to find your balance again after giving birth. I want to give you a helping hand to experience the strength you need to pick up your life again. That strength is inside you, even though it sometimes feels out of reach. We will find it together.
Coaching with massage
I recommend the combination of coaching and massage. Talking often brings clarity and perspective, and the massage releases the physical tension that has built up. You then go home lighter both emotionally and physically. A session lasts 1.5 hours, often divided into 45 minutes of conversation and 45 minutes of massage.
Before Michelle was born, I had everything sorted. After her birth, I felt like I had little control over my life. Where I used to manage 25 people without a lot of effort, I now found that in the evening I couldn’t really tell my partner what had kept me so busy all day long. When I went to bed I couldn’t sleep, and started the next day exhausted. Reintje explained to me that during the day I produced extra adrenaline to take care of Michelle. This then made it impossible for me to sleep at night. Massage broke the vicious circle. During our discussions I learned that I don’t need to be there for Michelle 24 hours a day. I learned the moments I needed to be there for her, so that I could rest and relax at other times.
Yasmine, aged 32, one child