My daughter came running in from the backyard last summer, beaming, with arms flexed and said, “I have mommy muscles.”

The transition into motherhood is hard: it’s not just the sleepless nights or adjusting to your family’s needs, but the part where you have to relearn who you are as a woman. The woman you were before doesn’t get lost, she just evolves into something bigger. And here’s what nobody tells you: It takes a few years to feel normal again. And that’s okay.