Postpartum update

With every pregnancy I do worry a little about the body changes and how I will come out afterwards. The first week I was starting to get a little worried because my stomach was taking a little longer to go down than the others, but each day it got smaller and smaller. I highly recommend binding your belly after baby. I use control top underwear that goes up to my navel and it always helps. You can read more details on it by clicking here which is my postpartum post when I had Mariam.

I weighed myself after the first week mark but I don't remember what it was. At the two week mark I was 110, so I had lost 16 lbs. I gained 26 lbs this pregnancy. I'm completely fine with keeping the extra 10 pounds. I was a tad underweight to begin with. I'm now 3 weeks postpartum and I gained a pound so I'm at 111 right now. I'm exclusively breastfeeding and I tend to get really skinny by 3-4 months postpartum so I'm hoping things are different this time. I'm trying to remember to snack consistently though it's been a tad more challenging since I've had to cut out dairy because of Ava.

Here is my last bump picture at 38 weeks (I had Ava at 38.5 weeks)

2 weeks postpartum

Next week I plan on starting to exercise slowly as in working on my core first. I also need to work on building strength in my upper body again. Carrying the baby for long periods of time and nursing around the clock is killing my muscles and my knots have been hurting like nobody's business again. 

Postpartum: 9 months in....9 months out.

Mariam is now 9 months so I did a comparison picture this weekend. I've been bad and have not been working out and doing stomach exercises lately. I had hoped to get a washboard stomach by now, but I haven't made exercise a priority. I still plan too. I do try to exercise these days at least twice a week and I'm on my feet pretty much all day. Combined with breastfeeding and fast metabolism, I didn't have any trouble losing the baby weight. As I mentioned in my last postpartum post, I highly recommend binding your stomach postpartum especially if your stomach gets huge like mine and you've had more than one baby.

It's not always rainbows and butterflies

You know that perfect mother and wife that always has her house clean, dinner ready or cooking when her husband comes home, works out, is perfectly made up, and when not doing the things mentioned, she's spending quality time with her children working on crafts, or teaching them "Für Elise" on the piano? The mother that never snaps at her kids out of frustration, yet quietly reprimands them--have they need reprimanding? The wife that never haves a headache and when her husband offers his unsolicited advice too many times, instead of giving him a piece of her mind, she just keeps quiet and seethes under her breath?

 I don't know her either, because she doesn't exist.

That doesn't mean I don't try to be that mother and wife. God blessed me with an awesome ability to juggle many things at once and my parents instilled the hardworking values I've clung onto all these years, but I get tired too. 

As I write this, I hear nothing but the rain drops hitting the window and the sound of washing machine running upstairs because despite being "so tired", I couldn't help myself and not throw a load of clothes in the washer. "Now wait just a minute, where are the children?" You must wonder. They are at my in law's house. I dropped them off about two hours ago because I really needed to step away. I'm really bad about getting some "me" time. I just hate to be a burden and I know three kids is a lot. I hated even asking while I was there and instead of the truth, I muttered something about needing to run some errands and taking care of some things at the house, when in fact I just wanted to get away and cry. As I left their house I called my mother but she was too busy to talk, so I drove on and then it stormed all the way home. Once I reached the driveway, I had to get off the car in the down pour to remove a huge branch that fell in my way.

Really world? I mean c'mon! In retrospect I can look back and laugh but I was so not in the mood at that time. Today I'm tired. I've been staying up late tending to the kids and then working on the business and Mariam is still very high needs, and there's always a mess to clean up or somebody that needs tending to, and I felt like I had reached the point where I had nothing left to give. As a mother a feeling like that is only temporary I believe. The ability to give is an endless supply. I just need to recharge. It's babyville from sun up to sun down and I need a break. Which is why tomorrow I'm also stepping away from them and going on a date with my husband. I'm almost never away from the girls and that's not good for anybody. I need to stop feeling guilty, whether it's toward the kids, or H because he works full time and I know he gets tired so I don't want to ask. To be able to take care of everyone else, I need to take care of me too.

If you are a regular reader than you know this blog is mainly filled with happy snippets of my life and it is a happy life, but I am also an open and honest person and whether we admit it or not, there is always going to be a storm that occasionally rains on our parade. I hesitated to post this, but I needed to get this out. Whether it's for validation that it's ok to feel like this, or a "hey you're doing a good job", I don't know, but I needed to vent to someone/something that can't talk back and just listen. 

Missing my pregnant body

Don't get the wrong idea though. I have no desire what so ever to be pregnant again right now. No way! No how! I just miss the body I had while being pregnant (minus the last month when my belly gets as big as a house!) I always feel most beautiful when I'm carrying a baby.

As I sat down last night to write this. Part of me almost hesitated posting it. See the thing is, I almost feel like I shouldn't even complain and I should just be thanking my lucky stars that I have never had to watch what I eat--as far as for weight is concerned. Health wise that's a different matter. However, as a woman I too am plagued with scrutinizing myself under a microscope and finding every little flaw. I have mentioned before that I don't like the weight I am now. I've always had a fast metabolism and been thin, but right now I am underweight. Coming in at a scrawny 94 lbs. I'm really hating pants and shorts right now because they feel saggy in the butt and I have to keep hiking them up and I do wear a belt but it's annoying. One thing I'm not minding is the boobs though--thanks to breastfeeding. I'm also sort of glad it appears that my hips got a little bigger after birthing this third baby. So I guess yay for not looking entirely like a pubescent 12 year old.  I've had a lot of people look at me while I'm holding Mariam and tell me how good I look for having three babies and being 4 months postpartum, and I thank them graciously, but to me, I don't feel good about the way I look. Every woman wants and deserves to feel comfortable in their skin--myself included.

So one of the main reasons I'm putting this out here is because I'm setting a goal for myself, and if I put it out there that just means I'll be more pressured to reach my goal. By mid May I want to gain 5-6 lbs and get back to being toned. I know it may sound easy, but it's really not for me. That's just how fast my metabolism is, and the fact that I'm constantly moving around and exclusively breastfeeding, which burns a lot of calories. Before you say go eat a Big Mac everyday for lunch or stuff myself with cupcakes and cookies, I want to gain weight by eating healthy fats and constantly eating. Yes I still intend to eat sweets because Lord knows I love sweets, but I need to keep those refined sugars to a minimum. I have been getting a leg up by drinking calorie shakes, so I'm going to continue those in addition to eating a lot and exercising at least 5 days a week. I'll be keeping cardio to a minimum because I don't want to burn a lot of calories, so I'll be working more on strengthening and toning. I hope if you made it this far, you aren't rolling your eyes at me, but this is something personal to me and a goal I would like to accomplish. I want to feel good in my body again and feel healthy and energetic for my girls. 

What happens when your mom cuts your hair

It comes out too short!

I also can't do too much with it. It's choppy and heavy at the bottom but I don't want to get it fixed because I refuse to lose anymore length. In fairness I've let her cut my hair a few times before and it's come out good. I'm really not too picky about a haircut because I always keep it long and I'm lucky in that I can get my hair to do what I want most of the time. However, I always get my hair colored professionally. 

It's probably a good thing that it's shorter than I'm used to right now because it's just been taking FOR-EVER to detangle and blow dry. Not too mention I've entered into that dreaded post partum hair loss stage. I'm shedding like crazy! I even found one of my hairs in Mariam's neck rolls the other day. Oops.

I want this hair back stat. I took this 2 and a half weeks after Mariam was born.

Here's a piece of advice for postpartum moms. Do not do anything drastic to your appearance the first few months after having a baby. In fact, don't change your appearance. You will go through many a hormonal rollcoaster and if it's cold outside, you'll probably be more pale than usual. If you are sleep deprived, you will probably have bigger under eye bags, or darker circles. Your stomach will be squishy and soft, and your complexion might be the worst it's ever been. In other words there will be times when you feel like a hot mess. I was feeling pretty good between 2-4 weeks postpartum but then my hormones took a nosedive and hurricane Mariam happened with her many tears and I am weathering this storm. As all things, this will pass and I know I'll come out better and stronger than ever.

6 Weeks Postpartum

I am now 6 weeks postpartum and I'm happy with the way things are coming along but I'm still not comfortable wearing form fitting tops. My stomach went down really fast in the beginning and while it is a little smaller than my 2.5 week postpartum update here, progress has slowed down as expected. I think it's really close to the point where it's gone down just about as far as it can on it's own and now it's time to start exercising.

 

I still have loose skin around my belly button and I get self conscious around H when I pull up my top to breastfeed and I've got this roll sitting on top of my pants. It takes about 6 months after pregnancy for everything to come back into place and exercise will tighten the skin, so I try to remember that. I've been waiting for the 6 week mark to start exercising. I haven't done any at all--and really I'm not in a rush. I know I'm lucky to have fast metabolism, but as I mentioned before, you can actually hinder your progress of getting back to pre-pregnancy size if you start too soon. I actually plan on waiting till the weekend to start walking and I will start incorporating other exercises next week. I plan on waiting at least two more weeks if not longer for ab work.

 

My stomach got so stretched out last year and this year so I really want to give my stomach muscles a chance to come back together and not aggravate the process by doing standard situps. I have to build up my core first.

 

Here is the progression thus far:

 

 

As far as other postpartum issue besides getting back into shape, I'm happy to report that I haven't had any baby blues. I still get some random sciatic nerve pain in one of my legs here and there, and my neck and shoulders hurt related to breastfeeding from last year (that's another post), but that's pretty much all I can think of. Later this afternoon I have my 6 week postpartum appointment where the nurse will check and make sure my uterus is back to it's normal size and we'll be discussing birth control...because this baby making factory is closing up shop! I'm not ready to do anything permenant in case I ever change my mind, but I really don't see that happening. I've got more than I can handle and I feel like my family is complete with three girls.

2.5 Week Post Partum Update

I'm 3 weeks postpartum today, but I took these photos this past Friday. I'm happy with my progress so far. Honestly, I was worried about how my stomach was going to look after being so stretched out with this pregnancy and it being my third....and the fact that it was this big last year too!
 

I mean hello torpedo belly!....

 

 

I gained a total of 25 lbs and I'm not sure how much I weigh right now because my scale is broken, but I'm pretty sure I'm getting close to my pre-pregnancy weight.

 

Ok, so you are probably wondering what my secret is--and I'm going to tell you.

 

Control top underwear. Yep. I'm not wearing them in these pictures, so that is my stomach not compressed, but I'm telling you these things are miracle workers! The brand I've been using is Bali in style 8710. I totally have to credit my mom on urging me to bind my belly down this time. Whether you get a corset, an actual postpartum belly binder, or control top underwear. Just get something that keeps your belly nice and tight. The type that I used has the top that goes all the way up to about an inch above my belly button. .

 

I still have a ways to go but I'll get there. I'm in no hurry to exercise yet. You have to take it easy the first few weeks. I stayed busy but I didn't lift anything heavy, or drive the first week and a half.  You don't want to strain your belly or put any type of unnecessary pressure on it. It won't help your recovery and you could get a hernia. Also continue to lotion your belly and drink lot's of water. Another thing that helps is breastfeeding since when the baby nurses, it makes your uterus contract and go back to it's natural size faster.

 

This recovery has gone so much better than last year. I haven't had any postpartum blues--minus being a little extra sensitive and I'm bouncing back faster. I really credit the fact that I stayed active and busy this pregnancy. I was pretty much on my feet for much of the day since I had Layla to tend too.

 

Happy Cyber Monday!



Body after baby...

 

Let's face it, most of us aren't going to have a personal trainer on hand ready to call upon after we have a baby. Chances are we aren't even going to be motivated to work out due to being sleep deprived. You don't want to work out too fast anyways until it's cleared by your doctor. Jumping too quick into an exercise regimen after a baby can cause long term effects--and not in a good way.

 

When I had my first I was barely 20 and I had youth on my side. Not that I'm not still youthful now, but this is 10 years later people. I had lost all my weight within the first week. I had only gained 12 lbs as it was. I liked my body after giving birth. Being slight my whole life, I felt it added some curves I didn't notice before. Muscle tone was always easy to put on since I played sports most of my life, but this was different. I felt more womanly. 2 years after I had Serena I started playing soccer again and I was even happier with my body--and proud that I was doing this after having a baby.

 

 

I quit soccer because we were having difficulty conceiving Layla, but still tried to stay active here and there. With Layla I gained 35 lbs and wasn't crazy about my postpartum body. My belly was huge pregnant with her (like I am now) and it took about 3 months to lose all the weight. By 4 months postpartum I started rapidly dropping the weight. I got too skinny and my clothes were hanging off me. I was back at work at this time so I'm sure being sleep deprived, busy and stressed wasn't helping. I gained some weight but it was hard until this recent pregnancy. (9 months postpartum I was already pregnant again)

 

The challenge I see myself having this time is my belly. Around 8 months postpartum I was barely targeting my stomach and then got pregnant so I never got to see it toned and flat again between these two babies. I know that I would bend over and it would still wrinkle around the belly button, and if I got too full, you could see roundness. Sort of like my intestines hadn't fully moved back into position. That's why shortly after this baby, I plan on getting a belly wrap. My mom told me to wrap my belly after I had Layla but I didn't listen. I thought I'd have no issue like with my first.

 

 

 

So the plan after this baby is to start with something not too strenuous like yoga and pilates coupled with walking and then move onto toning followed by ab work once my abdominal muscles have gone back into position.