Confession. I secretly thought this whole post baby body thing would be a piece of cake. So I ate all the cake I wanted. Ice cream too. Let me be clear… Post Baby Body is not a joke. I wish it were.
I’m 9 weeks out and I thought for sure (ASS-U-ME-d) by now I would be in my pre-pregnancy clothing. I’m a jerk. I am not in my pre-pregnancy clothes. I am not even close to in my pre-pregnancy clothes. I have squeezed into things that used to be huge on me, but 90% of my closet is off limits right now. Not to mention how I never liked bras. Now I live in bras. What do you even do with cleavage and straps? Why do people buy boobs? When do they go away? What is this post baby life?!
I also Ass-U-Me-d that I would be able to go for runs. HAHAHA. No. I have gone for a few walks. But for the most part my “workouts” take place in the babies room listening to J.Lo and Kanye. I’m committed to getting back to “me”, but I’ve become much more realistic these days about my post baby body and it’s timeline.
So now what? How do you get it together after baby? I don’t have the final answers yet, but here are the steps I’m taking…
Water. Water. Water. And more water. At the end of my pregnancy, doctors had me chugging over a gallon of water a day to keep my/her fluids up. Once I had Reegs that slowly dropped off. But for breastfeeding and weight loss, I’m bringing it back. Water is a wonder of the world. And more water only brings healthy skin, more milk, and better digestion.
Dance Parties. I may not always want to dance. I grew up a dancer that never stopped moving but now… I’m dying to sit down. So when I find the energy. I find a fun workout playlist on iTunes radio and I make myself dance around in my own private Zumba class for 15 minutes. Reegan laughs at me. I make funny faces. It’s great. I try to do it twice a day. But even if I only end up doing 5 minutes once a day, it’s better than nothing. At a few months postpartum, don’t push it. Just find ways to ease back in.
Walk it out. I bought a FitBit when Reegs was 4-5 weeks old and I love it. It reminds me to take those extra steps. When I want something from a different room, it encourages me to get it myself instead of yelling for my husband. Every little bit helps. It even tracks my sleep and motivates me to take Reegs for a walk around the neighborhood (3.5 miles = almost 9k steps!)
Baby Weights. Yup. I use Reegs as a weight for squats, arms, etc. My mom sent me this awesome video of a super fit mom using her little one as a weight. It’s perfect. I squeeze it in randomly during play time. We can’t do all those exercises because Reegs is still too little, but when she’s super alert and her neck is feeling strong, I take the opportunity to lift her up and down a few times. **Be aware of how you are lifting baby. Remember that baby is a 10+ weight, so if you are hunching or you’re not bending from the right places you can hurt yourself or build muscles you aren’t fond of. So put on those imaginary 80’s jeans, the ones with the super tight high zipper and suck in your tummy and firm your sides while playing with baby.
All I know is, it’s a long road. Be easy on yourself. You just created a beautiful human being. Your body is absolutely amazing.
Don’t go spinning because of a pair of jeans. And find ways to exercise that add to your time with your little one, not take you away. Maybe dance parties and walks aren’t the Barry’s Boot Camp route to post baby body perfection. Maybe it’s a much longer route than your favorite celebrity. But it’s a route that involves watching my baby giggle. So it works for me.
**It should be noted that I cried getting dressed to go to dinner last night. Our bodies are now oddly shaped.. Nothing fits like it used to.. We aren’t perfectly comfortable. I let myself cry for 4 minutes. Texted my 2 best friends. Put my shoes on and got over it. We had a fun night and I only self consciously sucked in my stomach 2-3 times. Feels like a success.
ME: {Leggings : Beyond Yoga c/o YogaOutlet.com in Wildberry} { Shirt : Sweet Romeo} {Bra : Free People c/o YogaOutlet.com} // REEGS: {Onesie : Jumping Bean}
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