Is it perimenopause or postpartum?

Moms in their 40's, spring zen, and more in the weekly roundup of things we have loved lately.

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It’s spring—the trees are leafing, we can feel the sun on our skin again, and there are so many things to look forward to. Doesn’t it feel restorative, in spite of everything?

In case you missed it, our featured post from this week is Allison’s reflection on spending a weekend with Robin Wall Kimmerer, the scientist, writer, mother and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, and author of the fantastic book Braiding Sweetgrass.

An essay on raising a garden, raising good kids, and raising a little hell? Yes, please. This piece was such a breath of fresh air this week.

Raise a Garden. Raise Good Kids. Raise a Ruckus.

“The practice of gratitude,” Kimmerer said, “leads to a practice of self-restraint. A feeling of ‘enoughness’ is an antidote to a desire for consuming more,” she told us.

“Saying, ‘I have enough’ is a radical act in a consumptive society.”

The links:

Photo by Camylla Battani on Unsplash

As someone who had a baby in my 40’s I am frequently wondering whether whatever is up with my body on any given day—or what is off with my body—is a result of having a baby, perimenopause, aging, or all of the above.

Sleepless nights? Yes.

Irritable mood? Definitely.

Unexplained gnawing pain in my hip joints that no amount of yoga will totally relieve? More often than not.

This piece from Amil Niazi made me feel very seen, and I’m not alone. As she writes, last year, the U.S. birth rate actually went up slightly, and according to the CDC, the one percent rise was driven by moms in their 40s:

“Yet we still don’t really talk about how different that experience is for women, and how as we have kids later, our fertility butts up against our shifting hormones