The postpartum season can be both beautiful and disorienting, leaving new mothers feeling exhausted and unseen in the midst of constant care. During those long days and nights, it’s easy to wonder if anyone truly understands. In Cradled, Annie VanderHeiden offers tender, gospel-centered encouragement for moms in this season, helping them see how Christ meets them in their daily tasks.
I’m so grateful for Annie’s thoughtful reflections and hope you enjoy getting to know her in today’s Sneak Peek interview. Cradled releases on May 6, and it is available to order now.
1. Can you give us an update on what life is like for you in this season? 
I had the incredible privilege of serving as editor for Risen Motherhood, a ministry to moms that sunsetted last year. So much of what I do and who I am, personally and professionally, has been influenced by that beautiful season, and it’s been such a joy to offer this book up now as a small continuation of that gospel-centered work.
Currently, I’m freelancing as a writer and editor for Well-Watered Women and various other publishers, on top of mothering and serving in our local church and community. My husband Adam and I have two adorably feisty littles (5 and 2), and we make our home in NW Washington state, where we’re a half hour away from both mountains and beaches—the perfect combo. In my spare time, I love going on walks with my family, putting together parties and gift baskets (give me a theme and I’ll make it happen!), thrifting, trying new recipes, decorating, and sipping on matchas. My days feel pretty small and simple most of the time, but also full of God’s sweetness!
2. How did God inspire you to write Cradled?
When I first became a mom, during the pandemic, it felt like I cracked open into a million tiny pieces. I was completely out of my depth and riddled with fear and uncertainty. I’d been dreaming about motherhood ever since I was little, and yet nothing could prepare me for the weight of actually walking in the door with my own newborn and seeing all the responsibilities stretching before me. What was I supposed to do next? Would I feel this way forever? What was wrong with me? Questions like these consumed my thoughts and filled my heart with shame, 24/7. I was supposed to be the “good Christian mom” and figure this all out—right? It felt like my worth and identity as a woman were riding on that.
On top of all the normal pains and adjustments of postpartum and first-time motherhood, undiagnosed postpartum depression and anxiety left me feeling even more isolated and incapable. I didn’t know where to go for help, and my relationship with God felt strained and distant amidst everything I was feeling and facing in the here and now. God used those trials to really humble my heart and open my eyes to the needs of other moms, as well as to his deep ministry of care to us in and through our weakness.
A few years later, my publisher reached out about potentially writing more on this topic, and it felt like God was bringing my experiences full circle. It was an opportunity to reach back in time to my own weepy, weary new-mom self and pour out the hope and help she needed in the moment but didn’t know how to find. To use the words of 2 Corinthians 1:4, I was being called to pass along the comfort with which I had been comforted by God in that long and lonely season.
No matter whether a mom’s postpartum period feels smooth or full of suffering, I pray that God uses this book to encourage her heart and ultimately point her back to himself as the perfect Parent.
3. You structure the book around eight ordinary tasks—feeding, sleeping, changing, soothing, washing, nurturing, praying, and anticipating. Why did you choose to organize the book around these rhythms?
During postpartum, it feels like your whole world shrinks down to the immediate needs and schedule of the baby in your arms. Suddenly, your life revolves around nursing alarms and spit-up and Target runs for diapers. And rightly so—you have a body that’s healing from major trauma and a newborn who’s fragile and dependent on you for everything. It’s all-consuming. So I wanted to give readers a framework that would nestle easily within their everyday experiences—that as they found themselves attending to the next diaper change or bath or feeding session, they would be able to tangibly tie that into Christ’s care for them too.
The more I dug into Scripture while writing, the more I was amazed to find how much Christ, in his human experience, could relate to our embodied struggles. He felt worn out and hungry. His rest was often interrupted as he poured himself out in ministry. He cried out in prayer for his little ones. And he understood and provided for those very real, human needs among the people he served, too. He fed, offered rest, soothed, washed, and nurtured others. So, as moms pour themselves out for their children at all hours of the day and night, I wanted to make it easy for them to remember the Savior doing the same on their behalf.
Cradled also very intentionally progresses from the more concentrated tasks of early postpartum (like navigating breastfeeding challenges or intense sleep deprivation) to bigger-picture aspects of motherhood, like praying and anticipating. In that way, it’s made to grow with you as a mom, giving readers a gospel framework and understanding of Christology that they can continue building on in future seasons of parenting.
4. Postpartum often exposes both physical weakness and spiritual need. How can mothers care for their souls when they can barely find time to shower?
One of the biggest encouragements I can give another young mom (and that I continue to preach to my own heart!) is not to despise the small things or the limited investments. We can get so discouraged by everything we feel like we can’t do in this season—whether having an uninterrupted quiet time or being fully present in a worship service—that we forget that little things add up to big fruit. So, pay close attention to those small bits of space or time that you do have. Are you filling them with scrolling on social media, adding more to your Amazon cart, or doing other things that deplete your peace and rest? Or are you taking advantage of those moments, as small as they may be, to read or listen to Scripture, text a Christian sister, play worship music, or take in God’s creation—things that will fill and restore your soul?
Just like we often have to survive on “snacks” in other areas during this season—grabbing those mini meals between feeds or rubbing in the dry shampoo or taking the catnap—we can leverage the little opportunities to take in even one short verse of Scripture or pray a sentence in the middle of the night. These investments all build up over time, strengthening our dependence on God and our understanding of his ever-present love and care for us.
5. How might this book serve not only new moms but also grandmothers, friends, or women walking alongside someone postpartum?
I think God has mercifully wired us as women to forget a lot of the intensity and pain of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum (such that we often do it again and again!). The longer we move away from those seasons ourselves, the easier it can be to minimize or downplay the very real struggles of the little years. Older moms, grandmas, mentors, and friends have a well-won, long-range perspective on the worth and beauty of that season (that younger moms desperately need!), but they also need to keep hearing from women currently in the trenches what they’re thinking, feeling, and wrestling through in order to more effectively counsel and care for them. I pray that Cradled will be a resource that promotes these deeper, more integrative relationships between older and younger moms.
I also hope that others in postpartum moms’ circles—sisters, peers, and even husbands and pastors—will pick up this book as a way to better understand, love, and serve them. There aren’t many resources at all on this topic, especially in Christian spaces, and I feel the weight and responsibility of bringing a voice to women’s experiences in a very raw and vulnerable season of their lives. Even among moms in their childbearing years, the individual journeys can look drastically different, for a myriad of reasons. It may be that you yourself had relatively smooth postpartum seasons, but a sister you know is going through the exact opposite. I’ve labored to be real and transparent with my own struggles throughout the book in an effort to keep facilitating open conversation and authentic ministry in the church at large.
6. For a sneak peek, here are some quotes:
“We can forget that we’re both mothers and children. We’re not God—the master of the universe—even though we might subconsciously expect ourselves to be right now. We won’t be impassive in the face of pain and suffering. We can’t have an omniscient read on our babies (or ourselves). We’re not able to perfectly spin the plates or sufficiently meet all the needs of our households in and of ourselves. Moms are impressively strong and capable and intuitive, certainly, but we’re still weak children at the core. We’re still needy little ones growing up in our Father, desperate for his continual love and care. And this is what motherhood—and especially postpartum—teaches us: how to be children again.”
“We can embrace all the beautiful unknowns of postpartum—and the motherhood beyond—because Jesus himself is our security, identity, and joy. Whatever lies ahead, he has already gone before you in both fullness of pain and fullness of pleasure.”
“In the dryness and desperation you may feel right now, keep expecting Christ’s presence and power to show up. He is going to grow and transform you through this season—and through all of motherhood. He will strengthen and provide for you every step of the way. He will enlarge your heart and expand your skills and capacities, even when you feel like you can’t lift a tired eye or put one foot in front of the other. In your weakness, neediness, and even unloveliness, he is fashioning you to be stronger, holier, and more beautiful. Though the ‘cord clamping’ may feel painful, it’s setting you free to become everything he wants you to be—a glorified saint.”
7. Here are some endorsements:
“What a life-giving resource! I commend Cradled to new moms as it will fortify their hearts and minds with the gospel in the hazy days of motherhood. The postpartum season is hard, but Annie’s words will encourage moms to set their sights on Jesus and the deep well of gifts found in him.”
—Laura Wifler, Poet; Author; Coauthor, Risen Motherhood
“Cradled is a gift to every new mother navigating the tender, disorienting, and beautiful postpartum season. With poignant language and deeply relatable reflections, it gently anchors weary hearts in the unchanging truths of Scripture. Page by page, it reminds us that Christ’s care is not distant or abstract but present and personal—even in the sleepless nights and fragile days of early motherhood.”
—Amy Gannett, Writer; Bible Teacher; Founder, The Bible Study Schoolhouse and Tiny Theologians
“Annie’s writing is stunning, relatable, and theologically rich—painting real-life moments with warmth and honesty. Through each snapshot of postpartum life, she invites moms to see how the gospel offers hope and encouragement in the fourth trimester as they look to Jesus.”
—Emily Jensen, Coauthor, Risen Motherhood and Gospel Mom
“I love Annie’s writing. Not only is the prose itself beautiful, but she approaches this topic with vulnerability, tenderness, and deep care for the reader. She shines light on a topic that we all too often leave in the dark. Annie goes even further, examining the ways Jesus identifies with new moms and how he offers them genuine hope for the immediate moment and all eternity. This book is a must-read for every new mom and the people who love them.”
—Jen Oshman, Author; Speaker; Women’s Ministry Director
8. If you had to choose one simple everyday pleasure that feels especially comforting to you, what would it be, and why?
Thanks to my own postpartum struggles with anxiety, I chose to give up my most-beloved coffee, but now I am solidly team matcha! Whisking the powder each morning into hot water and then pouring it over frothed milk is such a calming, rhythmic way to start my day. When I have the inclination, I love experimenting with flavor add-ins (rose, peppermint, or amaretto extracts are my fave!) to level up the delight. Good food and comforting drinks are such a gift from our creative, nurturing God!
Annie VanderHeiden is the former editor of Risen Motherhood and now busies herself with freelance writing and editing, lay church ministry, and mothering two littles. She plants her roots in the uppermost corner of the PNW, enjoying salty sea air, drizzly days, long walks, overflowing mugs of matcha, and any thrifting opportunities she can get. Annie is the author of Cradled: Christ’s Care for Postpartum Moms (P&R, 2026). Connect with her on Instagram (@anniekvanderheiden) or annievanderheiden.com.
