Since tomorrow is Brody’s first birthday (I seriously can’t believe it), I thought I would talk a little about being 12 months postpartum. I know this is completely different for every woman, but honestly, I find it pretty fascinating. Our bodies are all so different, but yet the same in the fact that by the grace of God, most of us women can birth children.
But it’s really not about that, I really find it interesting in the way our bodies change. Kristen Bell said it best here:
I can’t say that is the way I always looked at it over the last year when my real thoughts were more like this….
+ Your hips widen and that’s that. They stay that way or at least mine have.
+ My rib cage expanded and it didn’t seem to go back down after the baby was out.
+ My boobs changed…I won’t go into too many details here, but just picture deflated balloons.
+ It’s tough to keep toned during pregnancy, expect some flabbiness.
+ Your skin stretches and it may leave some marks…
With all that being said…I’m still amazed at how our bodies can bounce back. Kristen Bell is right. The less we can worry about the scale, the better we will probably be. It’s different for everyone and there’s many woman that have their bodies back in a matter of weeks and I consider them bionic. It’s just not right and not fair and we should probably punch them in their six pack abs. But for a lot of woman, it truly takes nine months to a year and as frustrating as that can be at times…it’s a pretty small price to pay in the big picture.
I know when I was pregnant that I kept telling myself I would work my butt off to have all the baby weight gone in 3 months. It’s just not that simple. Life gets in the way and we aren’t the priority anymore when there is a newborn involved. It takes time for your body to heal before you can start training it again. It can be a frustrating process at times, but try and remind yourself of the miracle that you just made and do your best to get to your happy place and the rest will come as it may.
I hope my honesty hits home with some of you and the rest of you that haven’t had babies yet, I certainly hope not to frighten you. It’s something we all go through and I think it’s important to be aware of and prepared for because the happier you can be with yourself, the better you will be as a spouse and as a Mother.
Link up starts at 6am EST.
One of these days I'm going to get my act together and do the link up! And what a great post!! I'm 3 weeks postpartum with my 3rd and honestly each time has been so different. It took a good 9 months to lose the weight with my first and then I went under my prepregnancy weight, the second had the weight gone in 3 months and this time I have less than 10 pounds left (but my hips are still really wide) but I'll have to wait and see when those pounds head on their way. Someone mentioned maybe your body knows what to do more and more each time (my recovery has been completely different each time as well). I never know whether to shop for my post pregnancy body or not. I purchased some cheap items that i hate because the fit isn't great (thanks hips), but squeezing into my old clothes isn't that fun either. You always look so cute – I'm so impressed. Thanks for the honesty with this post!
Great post! I think you look great!! I am so nervous about my post baby body round 2. While I lost all my baby weight plus 5lbs within 6 months. I gained that extra 5lbs I lost back after I stopped breastfeeding and I was horribly out of shape. Prior to having Miller I worked out quite a lot and had really good muscle tone but I worked out zero while pregnant and maybe 5 times after he was born. I am actually considering going back to the gym now just to work my legs and arms in hopes of helping myself some before this baby is born. I will say that I am truly still amazed by what our bodies can do. I spent a lot of time after Miller was born being terrified of never fitting into my clothes again and I'm still in shock that I ever got back to my pre-baby weight. The hardest part is that every woman is different and we all gain and lose at different speeds and it's so hard not to compare ourselves. The celebrities and public figures don't help either when they show up on a magazine cover 3 months post baby with a rocking body.
I think you hit the nail on the head – it's so important to remember that you spent 9 months nurturing that baby in your belly and it's going to take a little while for everything to get back to somewhat normal!! For everything that your/(women's) bodies go through it is just a miracle – I mean seriously!!
This post is so inspiring! I love Kristen Bell, she is so awesome. I can't say I am not nervous about what is going to happen to my body after giving birth, but I will say the sacrifices I am making (including my changing body) will be worth having a little bundle of joy! That is amazing that you are back to pre-pregnancy weight! You look great in all the photos I see!!
I LOVE THIS POST! Even at 7 weeks pp it's been really frustrating. I literally don't fit into ANYTHING still except my maternity yoga pants. And watching so many friends bounce back to their pre-pregnancy shape is really, really hard. I know it's going to take a lot of hard work and dedication to slim down. Thanks for posting this!!
It really is amazing what women's bodies go through! In the big picture, what Kristen Bell is saying is so totally true but I can see how it can be hard to remember that day in and day out. I haven't had any children yet but I already worry sometimes what it will do to my body! I know it will be worth it of course, but it's just a lot of change! Hang in there – I think you look amazing!!
I have to admit that I worry about my body after the baby often. I wasn't super skinny when I started the journey so I really hope that I am able to slim down again after baby. I know that body image and PPD can easily go hand in hand. On the other side – you are so right. How blessed are we that we can grow a life inside of us? Pretty crazy but I will take some balloon boobies and stretched out skin for that little miracle any day!
This is all so true! I finally got back to my pre-pregnancy weight around month 7 and then found out I was pregnant again! My body shape definitely changed and that's been hard to deal with, especially when I find women who bounce right back like it was nothing or when I look at pics of celebs who shed their baby weight in 5 weeks! I gained more weight with #2 and struggle more to keep it off. But I'm also older now so I attribute some of this to my age. No matter how I feel about my body though, I make a point to never let my daughters see my frustrations with my body. I want them to feel as confident about theirs as long as possible! And at the end of the day I remember that I wouldn't swap these extra pounds for my little girls!!
mmmmmhm. I didn't really get that things wouldn't go back…but odd things like hips and boobs. I'd kill for my old boobs!
Great post!! I know it takes me two years post-partum to get back to normal. It's so amazing what our bodies can do, but it definitely was a shock to me that things didn't just go right back to how they used to be. It's a constant work in progress, but the kids definitely motivate me to stay healthy for them. Happy almost birthday Brody!!
I just discovered your blog and I love it! We celebrated our daughter's 1st birthday in April. It's like I blinked and she was a year old. I'm still in shock I think. I did a lot of planning and party prep as well. I look forward to seeing your hard work pay off.