Body Post Baby
If you are a mama and reading this, you know what I am about to talk about: our bodies after babies. Oh how our bodies change from pre-pregnancy.
Before having a baby, our bodies are whatever we make of it. You work hard to stay healthy, and some of us wish to be thin and have a body of the celebrity. You know, when you’re in college and you work out a lot to impress the guys?! Well then one day you find the love of your life, get married and then decide you want to start a family. And that’s the short version.
You then get pregnant, and for 9 months your body grows a human being. Ladies, you grow a human being inside you! Each week your body changes and grows to accommodate the growing baby inside you. And it’s the most amazing, exciting, weird, and bizarre event that your body has ever been through. At the end of 9 months, you give birth to a beautiful child and are so in love. You bring the baby home and you think, “I still look like I am 5 months pregnant! How am I ever going to get my pre-baby body back?” Well, then you try to get fitness and nutrition back into your schedule. For some, it’s easy to get back into the swing of your fitness and nutrition regime. While others, it takes quite a bit longer.
Personally, I have not fallen back into the swing of things, yet. After baby #1, I felt that I got back on track a bit and was able to feel pretty good about where I was at. Then I got pregnant with baby #2. I tried, well, let’s face it, I didn’t try as hard the 2nd time around to do exercise or eat as well as I could have. I mean, they say you can eat whatever you want when you’re pregnant, right? So sure, occasionally I’d have a donut. Or I’d have more than 1 cookie. And let’s face it, I ate ice cream practically every day. Don’t judge – I love ice cream and I was craving it. I did tend to have salads or meals that were a bit more healthy during certain times, but if I had a craving I went with it. Except the one craving I had for McDonald’s chicken nuggets – I passed that one up.
I am 10 weeks post baby #2 and still feel and look like I’m 5 months pregnant. BUT I keep reminding myself that I am only 10 weeks post baby #2. Yes, I said that twice. I’m not one to jump into trying to get back into something if I’m not comfortable. I mean, I’m exhausted from not sleeping enough. And who knows when I will ever get another full nights sleep again, right?! And we need sleep to function. And my mind is saying, sure, let’s do a Zumba video, while my body is saying slow down – not yet! My mind is also saying, when are you going to be able to do this Zumba video (or any workout routine). With 2 kids and schedules being a so unpredictable, I am not sure when I’d even workout. Especially when I go back to work full time. When it comes to working out, for me, the best time is in the morning. I just prefer to get up, have a big glass of water and start working out. That’s just how I’ve always been. I’m sure at some point I will get it all figured out and get back into a fitness routine. My body has gone through a lot over the past year and it will take time to get to where I feel I should be.
I should add that I am not looking to get back into my pre-baby body to fit into those clothes. I am not trying to get a 6-pack abs to show off. I’m a mama now – and my body will never go back to the way it was and nor do I want it to. A woman’s body does amazing things when carrying a baby. I may look at myself and say – wow my body is so different than I remember it. And when I do, I then look at the 2 beautiful boys that I have and think “I carried these boys in my belly”.
When I think of this body of mine, I think, I just need to take care of myself. And I want to choose fitness and eating well to feel healthy. I’m just not fully ready to commit. I need a bit of time. I choose fitness and eating well to feel good. Sure, my body may change throughout the fitness and eating well. But I don’t expect too much from it. My expectation is the emotions that I feel when I am working out and after I work out. Working out makes me feel good. And since I’m not ready to jump back into the work out world, well maybe a long walk here and there may be feasible, starting with the eating habits is first.
Regardless of working out and eating healthy, I want all mama’s to know that you are beautiful. Your body is ever changing and you are beautiful. Don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise. Remember: You Are Beautiful. And know that you are doing an amazing job.