The Last 40 Days (Of Noah’s First Year Of Life)

An idea that dropped into my mind during meditation: “The Last 40 Days” (of Noah’s first year of life)

You may have heard of The First 40 Days — it’s a sacred period of rest + recovery for a new mama… a time to bond with your newborn, eat nourishing foods, cocoon, + connect inward. I highly recommend the book “The First 40 Days” if you want to learn more.

I absolutely LOVED my first forty days with Noah… however, looking back, there’s a few things I would have changed.

#1] I was on social media too much — processing “outward.” I don’t necessarily regret how I spent my time (I’m so glad I had those *in the moment* journal entries on instagram, documenting his weekly updates + doing Q+A’s on my amazing home birth experience), but my soul craved more stillness, more slowing down, more alone time as a family of 3, more contemplation inward before sharing “outward.”

#2] I was texting too much — putting pressure on myself to respond to people ASAP. I’m so grateful for the outpour of love I received after Noah was born, but I wish I would have given myself grace to just let myself have unread messages until I was ready to respond.

#3] I started seeing people too soon. While we cocooned a lot, ideally I wouldn’t have seen *anyone* (other than our parents) the First 40 Days… or longer. Even if we weren’t seeing people — we spent a lot of energy in “planning mode” trying to schedule visitors + plan dates for people to see Noah, which overwhelmed me easily + took me out of “being mode.” My hormones were on overdrive + I was so sensitive to everything. I just wanted to be with Noah + Isaac + that’s it. I wish I would have honored that a bit more!

So, what does this have to do with The Last 40 Days? I feel like I am getting a second chance to go inward.

“You’ll never get this time back” has constantly been in the backdrop of my mind.

I will never get the first year of my first child’s life back… ever again. 🥺 I so desperately yearn to be a present parent + to remember all of the beautiful moments of Noah’s first year of life — the mundane, the messy, the joyful, the silly, the growth… all of it.

I want to honor the the last forty days of Noah’s first year of life by:

• way less phone time — very limited social media (or none?!) + very limited texting (or none?!)
• daily meditation + intention setting with isaac — ideally in the morning
• daily journaling + gratitude — especially journaling motherhood moments
• most importantly — being present with Noah + Isaac as much as possible!

I’m very aware of the hold my phone has on me + I really want to be off my phone as much as possible during this sacred time. I also want to tune out the energies of others (even though I love my family + friends so dearly!), so that I can tune IN to my own energy.

The last 40 days is about going inward + honoring this journey of my first year of motherhood… being present to the end of Noah’s first year of life with eyes wide open. I want to look back + be proud of how I spent my time + energy.

The first day of The Last 40 Days starts tomorrow… March 9. So if you don’t hear from me, you’ll know why. 😉

The Last 40 Days — Recap:

WOW. My baby is ONE! 🥹 The last 40 days were absolutely beautiful. My greatest intention was to be PRESENT + remove as much distraction as possible (aka my phone), so that I could fully honor this chapter of Noah’s life. Looking back, I’m super proud of how I spent my time. If you’re a parent — you know that TIME SCARCITY is a real thing… so, “taking back your time” + moreso “savoring the time you have” is so important. I’m still working on this, but it’s top of my mind as we head into this next year of Noah’s life.

When Isaac + I were reflecting on Noah’s first year, we both agreed that it really feels like a “chapter has closed.” We don’t feel like NEW parents anymore. Also… Noah is now considered a TODDLER (what!?). Sure, there are so many things that we will continue to learn + navigate, but passing the *one year* mark is a really big deal. I have SO many takewaways from the first year of motherhood (that I’ll do in another post!) — but here are my takeaways from the last 40 days:

• Always say yes to park dates with Noah. Noah is so PLAYFUL + it’s a joy to witness. I never want to take these moments for granted.
• Take solo time (ideally in the morning when no one is up) to journal. I realized I had so many thoughts floating in my brain from the first year of motherhood… trying to articulate my feelings has been so helpful.
• Parenting book club with Isaac! Isaac + I read two books together the past 40 days (The Big Leap + How To Heal Your Life) — they aren’t “parenting specific” books, but they are self-help books, + it was beautiful having a conversation together about the books. I want to continue this! Growing as humans to become better parents + people!
• Intention: Finish Noah’s First Year Album in 6 months! I haven’t started at all… but this is really important to me + I want to make it a priority. Hold me accountable. 🥰
• Continue spending less time on my phone. My phone is my biggest distraction from being a present parent (/person!). Making a conscious effort to be OFF my phone as much as possible the past 40 days was so life giving! I want to continue to be super aware of my time on my phone. What this looks like for me is putting my phone in a drawer for most of the day.
• Communication is everything. Noah is a sponge, + even though he’s not talking yet — he’s still soaking everything up! I really want to focus on my communication now… particularly with Isaac. Zero bickering, criticizing, negative tones of voices.
• I’m excited to DATE Isaac again! This was fun realization. The past year has been ALL ABOUT NOAH (+ I’ve loved it) — I wasn’t interested in time away from Noah at all… aka, we always did things as a family of 3, + I loved every second. But, I’m ready to “get back to us” as a couple — yoga class, dinner date, concert… maybe even a vacation without Noah this year?!
• “It keeps getting better + better.” I remember in the early postpartum days, I was SO nostaglic. I kept thinking — How can it get any better than this? I don’t want Noah to grow up! But somehow… IT DOES! It’s been so much fun watching Noah’s personality develop + I love that we can communicate with him more + more. This stage is my favorite yet!

Happy birthday, Noah! We love you SOOO MUCH!!! Cheers to your first year around the sun, Noah Sol.

Love,
Elisabeth