“Both Can Be True” — Reflections on the Fourth Trimester
Two Truths and…No Lie
Arguably one of the first moments of my fourth trimester: my family is on their way to the hospital, and I want to take my first postpartum shower before they get there. I stand up on legs tired from labor, on feet wearing mustard colored hospital socks, and walk to the bathroom.
I pass the mirror and catch a glimpse of my tired eyes, squishy belly, and the oh so glamorous postpartum underwear situation: an enormous pad and and ice pack tucked between my legs.
I’m physically uncomfortable in this version of my body (to put it lightly). I’m also deeply proud of what this soft and sore body just did. I’m aching in places I didn’t know I could ache and at the same time, I feel more powerful than I ever have after giving birth.
That moment was just the first of many from my fourth trimester, and honestly from motherhood as a whole, where two seemingly opposite things were true at the same time.
This idea, this phrase “both can be true,” has become my mantra in motherhood. Coming to believe it as truth has been my greatest lesson.
A Couple Caveats
(Because they make me feel more understood on the internet.)
As with anything I share here, this is simply my experience. Take what resonates. Leave what doesn’t.
I’ve pulled stories from both of my fourth trimester experiences. They’re messy and real.
As you know, Materra Method is a business. One where I’ve always valued impact over income, but it’s still a business, and you’ll see me tie parts of this reflection back to our new Fourth Trimester Program. I’m so proud of it and excited to be launching it into the world. I created it to meet moms in those early postpartum days. To hold space for both healing and rebuilding, rest and strength. My hope is that, as I share my own experience, you’ll get a sense of what this program was built to do, and maybe even feel moved to check it out or share it with someone who might need it.
Physical Layer: Pain + Power
I can still hear the sounds of those early postpartum bathroom trips. The hiss of the Dermoplast spray. Rustle of that ginormous pad. My sharp inhale as I start to pee. And the squeak of the peri bottle. All that, just to go to pee.
After my first daughter’s birth, I was so surprised at how painful something so basic could be. I kept thinking, you’re telling me I just went through nine months of pregnancy, labor, and delivery, and now I can’t even pee without wincing? And this was just one of the daily tasks that felt tough. It was hard. I was uncomfortable. I felt physically fragile and yet completely amazed at what I had endured.
I can be healing and strong at the same time.
A few days in, I began to crave movement. I had been in the same three positions for days: sitting, holding, feeding. My body needed something different. But I also dreaded the thought of using energy I didn’t have for extra movement.
Gentle mobility and breathwork became my bridge. Moving in supportive positions helped me reconnect with my body and find relief without depleting myself. It helped me sit a little taller, breathe a little deeper, and feel a little more like myself.
I can crave movement and also dread it.
Both of these ideas are at the heart of our Fourth Trimester Program. It was built to honor the part of you that’s healing and support the part of you that wants to feel strong again. Movement that meets you where you are, without asking for energy you don’t have.
Mental Layer: Knowledge + Surrender
I know the science of postpartum recovery. I’ve studied and taught it for years. How to reconnect to your body through breath. The importance of rest. The slow rebuild of strength. But living it was something else entirely.
I could know exactly what my body was doing and still feel frustrated that it wasn’t happening faster.
After my first daughter’s birth, I returned to exercise too soon. I took one of our all levels studio classes and since I was feeling good at the moment I went for our hardest level. I wanted to prove that I was strong. That backfired. I wasn’t sleeping enough or eating enough to be pushing that hard. My body let me know. I was sore and depleted and in my book, that is not the purpose of movement.
I could teach other women the importance of rest and easing back in intentionally and still wrestle with my own limits.
The Fourth Trimester Program was born from this tension. Instead of the vague advice to “just listen to your body,” it offers a roadmap. A progression that helps you honor what your body needs. Helping you find that balance between too much and not enough.
I created the program with a pelvic floor PT and it’s been reviewed and approved by an OBGYN, but it was also shaped by my own personal experience of recovery. It’s built from both expertise and lived experience.
The Bigger Picture: Brutal + Beautiful
The fourth trimester is full of these mind bending contradictions.
I could be overjoyed and overwhelmed at the same time.
I could love my baby with my whole being and still miss who I was before.
I could cry from sheer exhaustion and cry from gratitude within minutes.
I could feel lonely even when I was never alone.
I could be proud of how I was coping and still feel like I was barely holding it together.
Postpartum is brutal and beautiful. As Glennon Doyle says, it’s “brutiful.” It breaks you down and shows you what you’re made of. There’s no tidy path, no one-size-fits-all guide.
This is true for movement too. There’s space to rest when you need it, and space to move when your body is ready. Space to feel tired and proud at the same time. Space to feel soft and strong. That’s what I hope women experience in the Fourth Trimester Program.
When your body asks for movement, we’re here to support it with our new Fourth Trimester Program.
Check out the new program!
If you’re in your own fourth trimester right now, this program was built for you.
Created with a pelvic floor PT, OBGYN-approved, and designed for this exact season where both can be true.