Post Baby Body

I know I wrote a lot about my changing body when I was pregnant. I talked much about my expanding hips, thighs, butt, stomach, and boobs. Sometimes I complained about the bodily changes, but for the most part, I feel that I embraced the changes that came along with my pregnancy. After all, I was growing a human being...how could my body not change and adapt to another life living on the inside of me. Plus, I quite enjoyed having the larger ta-tas for once in my life. 

But all along the way, I really wondered what damage my body was going to accrue after the pregnancy was over and the little one was here. I did have some fears about my post baby body. Would I have stretch marks? How much extra weight would I be carrying around? What would my stomach look like? Would my boobs be all saggy? Would my butt and thighs still be large? Would I still be walking around with cankles? And what would the damage be like to the hoo-ha area? Would my hubby still be attracted to me?

I knew that things wouldn't be the same with my body. How could they be? I, mean, I got pretty darn large during my pregnancy. Who knew I was carrying a butterball turkey in my belly that would come out weighing 9lbs and 3oz? 

So here's what happened with my body post pregnancy. First, I gained a total of 30lbs during my pregnancy. I started out at the beginning of my pregnancy weighing 136lbs, and on the morning the little one made his appearance I weighed in at a whopping 166lbs. I was within the normal range of weight gain for the average-sized woman during pregnancy. I was okay with that. 

The first few days after I had Quin, I cried every time I looked at my belly. It was huge. It was saggy. Whenever I would lean forward, all of the stuff (and by stuff, I guess I mean my stomach, intestines, bladder, uterus and whatever else) would collect, and it looked like I had a big sack of dough just piled up on the inside of me. After about a week, the "stuff" started to disperse. My belly was still pudgy but manageable and not tear invoking anymore. 

I lost my butt. While I didn't want a huge butt, I did enjoy having a bit of a bubble butt that filled out my jeans nicely. Not anymore. It's back to the wide, pancake-style ass I had before getting pregnant. I guess that's okay. After 30 years, I had grown to accept my butt as it was, so at least it went back to how it was before pregnancy. No surprises there.

My boobs look different every day. They're usually lopsided because I am breast  feeding, and I feed off one breast at each feeding. So after the little one has had his milkshake, the one boob is soft, squishy, and flat while the other one remains a little fuller looking. I enjoy looking at my boobs when they are full of milk (is that weird that I said I enjoy looking at my boobs?). They look so nice and supple. But, again, once meal time rolls around, it's back to squishy. And my boobs definitely aren't perky anymore. Of course, they were already on the downward slope towards saggy-ness because of gravity and age. So, I just sped up the process a little more by breast feeding. Oh, well!

My cankles finally went to back to ankles. And honestly, I was quite freaked out by them when they went back to their original size. They looked so freakishly skinny. I thought that my weight would break them because they looked so small compared to how they had been throughout the pregnancy. I am happy to have my ankles back. I can wear shoes and sandals again without my foot and ankles looking like I had stuffed a sausage into them. And I don't have the callouses on the bottom of my heels like I did when I was carrying all of the extra weight. It's nice not to have painful, calloused feet anymore. 

I didn't weigh myself until I had my follow-up OB visit with the doctor. I don't know how much I weighed when I left the hospital or during the eight weeks (should've been 6 but it was 8 due to having to reschedule the follow-up OB appointment) prior to the appointment. We don't keep a scale at home. I don't need to obsess about my weight. I just need to feel good in my skin and my clothing despite the number on the scale. Anyhow, when I returned to the doctor to have all of the goodies checked out (which, by the way, looked good, so the doc said), I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I was a bit surprised by the numbers, but of course, I didn't question what the scale said. I figured I would have about a year to get my body back into shape and to shed the baby weight, but I guess the advantage to having a large baby is the workout I get from carrying and lifting him all day. And I am sure that the breast feeding has a lot to do with the weight loss.  

Ultimately, I am okay with my post baby body. I expected that my body would change, and that nothing would quite be the same. I thought I would have a harder time with the changes post pregnancy, but I love the fact the my body has been forever changed because of the miracle of pregnancy and growing a child. Even though I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight, my body still feels and looks different. The weight has shifted and readjusted itself in my body. I am okay with that. I figure that it doesn't do me any good to obsess about something that's not ever going to be like it was before. I just need to accept it for what it is and move on so that I can enjoy my time with my son and my hubby! So that's what I am doing. 

 Post Baby Body - 11 weeks

It's not perfect, but it's okay with me!

 Linea de Negra

I still have the black line from pregnancy. The line is one thing that I definitely dislike. And you can still see the spot where I burned myself with boiling water when my belly was really, really large. And the skin above the belly button is really loose. And the inside of my belly button is really, really dark now. I think this area is where most of the changes are located that I do not like. 

 Pooch!

Yeah, I have a pooch! It's soft and doughy! 

And yes, I still rock the maternity jeans for no particular reason.

Worthwhile!

And this little guy makes all the body changes okay with me!

“Accept who you are; and revel in it.” ~ Mitch Albom in Tuesdays with Morrie

“Instead of spending life’s precious energy asking “Is my butt too big?” spend it asking “Is my life too small?”“ ~ Kathrine Brown

“Where bodies are concerned, there is no norm. Because we ARE ALL DIFFERENT! Which is what makes us REAL. And celebrating that difference is what positive Body Image is about.” ~Dr Samantha Thomas

“There is nothing wrong with you as the self. It is what it is to perfection. It is the mirror that is not clear and true and therefore gives you false images. You need not correct yourself, only set right your idea of yourself.” ~Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

“I think that whatever size or shape body you have, it’s important to embrace it and get down!” ~ Christina Aguilera

“Finally Loving Yourself is not just something that we say – it is an action that we do.” ~Marla Cilley

“Amazingly, when I began to accept and love myself unconditionally, everything else in my life began to change as well.” ~Sarah Mariah, author of Love Your Body, Love Your Life.