I think about this every year. The temperature drops. The light fades. And something in me slows before I am ready to admit it. It is like the world has decided to quiet down, but motherhood keeps pulling me in every direction. I am still the one waking up in the dark. I am still the one feeding, soothing, cooking, holding everything together while my own body quietly shifts into a different season.
There is something I share often because most women don’t know it. In the postpartum period, 18 to 66 percent of women still experience major fatigue one to two years after giving birth.
Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1394380/full
We are told to bounce back. We are expected to be fine. But fatigue is not a rare problem. It is one of the most common postpartum experiences.
Now place that inside winter.
Shorter daylight hours reduce serotonin and increase melatonin. These two hormones control mood, energy, sleep, and the rhythm of your days. When the sun pulls back, your body shifts too, even if your life does not slow down.
Source: https://norcalbehavioral.com/the-science-behind-seasonal-mood-changes-how-your-brain-responds-to-the-seasons/
You can understand now why this season feels heavier. It touches everything. Your mood. Your sleep. Your patience. Your sense of self. And none of it means something is wrong with you.
My son was born in May. By the time winter arrived, he was around six months old. That was when he started waking every two or three hours to feed. I was healing well from postpartum, but that winter hit differently. I remember standing up too fast one morning and feeling the whole room tilt. I was dizzy most days. Foggy. Exhausted down to my bones.
There were mornings when I would stop by the window, holding him against me, and stare at the pale sky. The sun took forever to rise. Everything felt slower. I wrote in my journal:
“I don’t recognize myself in this season.”
Not because I was broken. But because motherhood had shifted me in ways I hadn’t caught up to yet. Winter made those changes impossible to ignore.
Most women feel this but whisper it quietly. When you become a mother, every season feels different. Winter becomes a mirror. It shows you the weight you carry quietly, the pieces you lost along the way, and the things you are still learning to hold.
After coaching and listening to so many women, I can tell you this: winter hits mothers differently.
Here are three reasons why.
Motherhood already stretches you. Your hormones shift. Your sleep is broken into pieces. Your recovery looks different every day. When winter arrives, the lack of light makes your body produce more melatonin, which makes you feel slower and sleepier during the day. For a tired mother, that extra dip in energy feels huge.
We go outside less. We see fewer people. We spend long stretches inside. Routine turns into repetition. Repetition turns into heaviness. Not sadness. Not a weakness. Just the weight of doing everything with less light and less support.
Life does not slow down just because winter has arrived. Kids still need you. Work still needs you. Meals, laundry, errands, everything keeps moving forward. But inside, your body wants a slower season. When what you feel does not match what life demands, you blame yourself. You should not. This is not your failure. This is a mismatch between what you feel and what the world expects.
I am not here to tell you to fix winter. Winter is not something to fix. Winter is something to move through. You are allowed to move through it softly.
Here is what has helped me and so many mothers I work with.
Your body listens to light. Just a few minutes of daylight or a therapy lamp can help reset your mood and internal rhythm.
Source: https://www.uchicagomedicine.org/forefront/health-and-wellness-articles/seasonal-affective-disorder-how-to-spot-and-treat-the-winter-blues
I sometimes step outside and just breathe. I do not go for a walk. I do not set goals. I just stand there and let my eyes feel the real light. It grounds me more than any morning routine.
Winter is not the season for punishing workouts. It is the season for reconnecting with your body.
A slow stretch.
A five minute breathing break.
A short walk.
A moment to feel your feet on the floor.
Ask yourself:
What do I need today?
Not what you should need.
Not what you planned.
Some days you will rest.
Some days you will move.
Some days you will ask for help.
Every one of those choices is valid.
I created my coaching program with motherhood in mind. With you in mind. Healing the mind and body must go hand in hand.
That’s why, alongside my writing, I continue to support women through:
If you’re curious about who I am beyond the page, you can also meet me here.
If this season feels slower.
If your energy feels different.
If your identity feels blurry.
I understand.
Motherhood reshapes us. Winter reshapes us too. You were never meant to carry all of this alone.
You are not falling behind.
You are not failing.
You are responding to a real season.
A real body.
A real life.
And when you are ready, I am here to walk through that season with you.
No spam. Just real support to help you heal, reset, and feel like yourself again.
