Two Things Can Be True at the Same Time

There’s something I find myself saying often in sessions with women I work with here in the Southwest Suburbs of Chicago:

Two things can be true at the same time.

You can be deeply grateful for your baby… and still feel disconnected from your body.
You can love this season of life… and still miss who you were before it.
You can be doing your best… and still feel like it’s not enough.

Both are real. Both are allowed.

And neither cancels the other out.

The emotional “in-between” of postpartum life

Motherhood, especially the postpartum period, is often described in extremes. You’re either “so in love” or “struggling.” “Grateful” or “overwhelmed.” “Healing well” or “not coping.”

But most women I work with in my pelvic floor physical therapy practice are living somewhere in between.

That space where:

• you’re bonding with your baby but also grieving your old identity
• your body feels strong in some ways and unfamiliar in others
• you’ve been told you’re “fine,” but you don’t feel like yourself yet

And because that experience doesn’t always fit into a clear label, it often gets minimized or dismissed.

Your body after pregnancy is still healing

From a pelvic floor physical therapy perspective, there is a lot happening after birth that isn’t always talked about—especially in standard postpartum care in the Chicago area and Southwest suburbs.

Even when you’re medically cleared, you may still experience:

• pelvic heaviness or pressure
• leaking with movement, coughing, or exercise
• pain with intimacy
• core weakness or feeling disconnected from your midsection
• anxiety or hesitation around returning to workouts

And emotionally, that can feel confusing—especially when you’re told everything is “normal.”

But normal doesn’t always mean optimal. And it doesn’t always mean you feel good in your body.

Two things can be true at the same time

You can love your baby and still grieve your old routines, body, and sense of self.
You can feel strong and still feel unsure.
You can feel grateful and still feel exhausted or disconnected.

These experiences don’t cancel each other out—they coexist.

And part of healing is learning how to hold both without judgment.

How pelvic floor physical therapy can help

As a pelvic floor physical therapist serving Oak Park and the surrounding Southwest Suburbs of Chicago, so much of what I do goes beyond exercises and symptom management.

It’s about helping you reconnect with your body in a way that feels safe again.

That can include:

• understanding what your symptoms actually mean
• rebuilding core and pelvic floor strength without fear
• returning to movement in a supported, progressive way
• addressing discomfort with intimacy or daily function
• and helping you feel at home in your body again

You don’t have to just “live with it.”
And you don’t have to figure it out alone.

If this is you

If this resonates, I want you to hear this clearly:

You’re not behind.
You’re not broken.
And you don’t need to rush your healing.

You just need support that actually meets you where you are.

That’s what pelvic floor physical therapy is for.

And that’s the kind of care I provide in Oak Park and the Southwest Suburbs of Chicago—both in-person and virtually.