Dear new mom trying to get her pre-baby-body-back,
If I could have had someone tell me a few things after I had Holden, our first child it would have made things a lot easier for me. I think if someone would have said, "Hey, just to let you know, after you have your kid, you will not have your flat stomach back, you will most definitely look 6-months pregnant for awhile. People will ask you when you are due, even as you carry your newborn in a sling on your chest. It's ridiculous, but don't be offended. I mean, it's ok to be a little offended...
And hey, your 9 months of eating EVERYTHING Cheese will not go away the second that baby comes out. (I am talking EVERYTHING cheese. Like the orange baseball-game-concession-stand cheese.
Nacho cheese
Mac and cheese
Velvetta, not even good cheese. The more orange and fake the better.
You will be out of shape, and you will cry every time you dare to put on pre-pregnancy jeans, if you can even remember where you put them.
You will feel overwhelmed and defeated most days. Most days you will be happy to get a shower before you have to rush to breast feed for the 100,930 time. You will clean up projectile spit-up multiple times, and when you finally rock the never-sleeping-baby to sleep, the DOOR BELL will RING! Because the mailman will never EVER see the cute little stork sign that says: "BABY IS SLEEPING!"
I remember having two little ones under the age of 3. Those were some of my hardest days to date. I felt alone and overwhelmed. I did not feel productive and was irritated I was in survival mode most days. I then remember the desperation of wanting to be back to my "old self." I literally stared at my awesome pre-preggers jeans in my closet, wishing them to jump over my post-baby-thighs each day.
Provoking them: "Come on you can do it" I would think to myself, maybe if I just wiggle on the ground for bit. I must have just washed and dried these. But it didn't happen. I would think TODAY IS THE DAY, but today was not the day, for many months, even year. So I teetered in between un-buttoning regular pants and having them sit half-way on my buttocks with a long shirt covering them, or wearing maternity pants with an elastic waistband. And the summer is worse. Oh, the SUMMER! That is a post all in itself.
But lo and behind one day like a CHRISTMAS MIRACLE, the jeans jumped over my thighs. And one day I packed away my maternity clothes, and one day I felt kindof normal. But it took a lot longer then I had expected, because I had no idea what I was doing.
As I look back, here are some things I would tell my post-pregnancy frazzled self:
Dear Kristi,
1. EMBRACE THE SUCK
Some days will just suck. You will have all intention of getting in your workout, which really just means walking up the stairs a couple of times before you have lost your breath. You will be discouraged, because your post baby body will look, feel, and act, way DIFFERENT for awhile. Embrace the Suck, don't let it defeat you before you even start!
2. IT'S GOING TO BE OK
It will be ok. You will get through this, it is just a season. And once you are over it, you may have another baby, but you will know what to expect. It is just a season. It is just a season. This phrase gets me through most of them. Seasons come and go. Remember this is not forever.
3. PLAN
Even if you don't get your workout in or eat the exact way you had dreamed up that day, at least plan for it. Sometimes just switching out jammies for yoga pants and a clean sports bra will get you in the mood to get a sweat in. Have food in the house that is nutritious, as well as good tasting.
4. EXPECT INTERRUPTIONS
Yes, by the grace of God your baby and toddler might be on the same nap schedule for the day, and you are in heaven, because you have 30 minutes to get some exercise in, but right when you are about to turn the workout DVD on, or get your weights set up, you hear the supposed-to-be-sleeping baby wailing in the monitor! Don't give up...Adapt and Overcome. Do some squats with the baby in your arms, make funny faces while you are doing push-ups, to make them laugh. It might not look like what you had planned, but it is something.
5. FIND HELP
Whether it is someone who can watch the kids for 30 minutes a day, a workout group who is going through the same thing, a friend who will sit in the hard with you, or a trainer to help you plan your chaotic day, find HELP. Don't sit in isolation, because I guarantee there is a mom right down the street feeling helpless and lonely just like you do. Get your strollers and walk together, be TOGETHER, sweat together, ACCEPT together.
6. DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT COMPARE
"Comparison is the thief of joy."
Do not compare yourself to any mom. You are all shaped and formed different, you will all bounce back differently. Just when you think you are doing well, you will walk by your friend who gave birth yesterday and she might be rocking a bikini. Tell her she looks great, and walk on by.
Do not stare, and do not COMPARE. Yes, there will be some body types, that will be able to strut down a runway 2 weeks after birth. They are the exception. Be happy for them and don't give it another thought. And don't talk about them...
7. START SMALL
Don't have in your head you will eat 1600 clean calories, workout 7 days a week, and will have post baby body back in 2 weeks. (I remember feeling so frustrated because my expectations were absurd. I thought I would hop back on a bike the next week, sprint up hills again, like a 9lb baby didn't just come out of the exact place I would be sitting on a bike. It made me frustrated and want to quit because I just felt like a failure.)
Celebrate small wins everyday.
- 5 minutes of squats, WIN
- Eating a healthy snack, WIN
- Getting in 3 days of workouts, WIN
8. REMEMBER
Above all, remember who you are and how awesome you are. You just birthed a baby for goodness sake. Your hips are out of place, you just ripped open your abdominals, (google C-Section if you want to be totally grossed out,) your hormones are whack. You have lots going on. Give yourself grace upon grace. With some work and patience your body will come back. Be patient, give yourself a break, kiss your babies and try to look at those stretch marks and extra skin as something to be proud of. Your body might not ever look exactly the same. But I promise with hard work, patience, and small choices daily, you will be surprised just how great you can feel.
It's never about perfection, but about healthy choices, that make you feel confident and give you energy, and help you provide an example to those cuties who have wrecked you in a beautiful way. It's about feeling WHOLE. THE END.
P.S. These will be some of the hardest days of your life. It is super overwhelming. Go shut yourself in the bathroom and get out that cry! The hard sobbing, snotty one...then take a deep breath, look in the mirror and say I am a bad A mom, dig deep, be patient, do the hard, and watch you surprise yourself.
Love,
Me