The birth of my second child brought me into the unknown – and in that darkness, I find wonder | Nadine Levy

The postnatal period can feel overwhelming. But there is wisdom to be gained from living in the in-between

• Making sense of it is a column about spirituality and how it can be used to navigate everyday life

I've had a second baby, seven years after my first. My body remembered the wonder, the repetition, the slog. Yet I was shocked, once again, by the jarring instability of this phase: ecstatic one day, unbearable the next.

I imagined someone from my old life seeing me on the street, stained, ragged and muttering non-linear thoughts about my immediate needs. I was too tired to be embarrassed so I laughed, a kind of unhinged, maniacal laugh. After all, I had been there once before.