24 Sep 2013
Pregnancy

Postpartum : 12 Week Update


Well, Jessica Alba claims to have worn not one, but two corsets after both of her pregnancies to expedite the return of her amazing bod; so what did you do??

I think it’s amazing what a woman’s body can do and am fascinated that we can grow a baby and bounce back.  And in a lot of women’s cases, they grow several babies and bounce back each time.  That’s incredible.

I’ve been interested in how I would bounce back after birthing baby Brody and I have to say that I’m pretty amazed.  I have felt good and had good energy since he was born.  But I definitely still have a long way to go to get back to my pre-pregnancy body.

I felt like 12 weeks post-pregnancy was a good time to stop and evaluate things.  I ended up gaining almost 40lbs by the time I delivered baby Brody which was certainly more than I had hoped to gain, but what are you going to do?

I lost 25 lbs within the first week, maybe 10 days, of delivering Brody.  I was amazed.  The water weight literally melts away.  You wake up in puddles of sweat in the middle of the night and your hair is wet and you wonder, what the hell? But it is your bodies way of releasing the excess water weight.   It felt so good for all the swelling to be gone…swelling you probably didn’t even know you had.

After that weight came off, I felt better; but still had 15lbs to go.  I watched the scale for a week, then another and then probably another and realized that these last 15lbs were not going to come off easy.  Damn it.

So it was time to start making an effort.  I started making time to workout whether it was a 45 minute walk with Brody and the dog, a workout video at home while the baby was sleeping or even just a few quick sets of push-ups, abs and squats.  I had to start watching what I ate a bit, but still know that I was feeding my child with those calories.  With that, I have been able to knock off 5 more pounds.  That still leaves me with 10 super stubborn pounds to get rid of…so I am telling all of you as a way to be accountable and stick to a game plan.

I took this photo for fun and compared it to one of my pregnancy photos.  The truth is that I still look 4 months pregnant or so.  It’s not something I feel bad about and know it is part of the process, but I am ready to lose this belly fat and shrink this uterus to get my flat  pre-pregnancy belly back.  

These items below are some things that I’ve utilized to try and get back in shape!  One thing I have really had to invest in is really good, supportive bras for these milk makers!  If you don’t, your boobs will hurt too bad to exercise and jump around during these workouts!  It’s no joke. 
Jillian Michaels 6 week to 6 pack abs // Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred // Lululemon Booby Bracer // Kangoo Jump Boots //  Pure Barre Workout Videos // Belly Bandit // Smart Water // Slim Away Adjustable Slimming Garment //  Lucy Race Me Bra II

So I’m not as dedicated as Jessica Alba, but I have become interested in utilizing compression on the belly.  I do think it could help.  I found the slim away garment at Bed, Bath, & Beyond one day and snagged it for $10 just to see if I would use it.  I’ve used it once.  Again, I think it could help; but it requires discipline just to wear it.  People swear by the belly bandit which comes in at about $50, but I have not invested in that.  Have you used one or know any that has??  Tell me more about it.  
Workout videos at home are great, but can be hard to stay consistent at.   Starting last week, I have my mother-in-law coming two afternoons a week to babysit Brody and I have started a fabulous new workout class called Kangoo Jumps.  It’s so much fun and a great workout.  I also use my Kangoo Jumps to run in my neighborhood.  I have a bad knee and these boots making running absolutely painless for me.  It’s amazing!!
Water is so important.  You need as much or more water now as you did when you were pregnant.  Luckily, I love water and it hasn’t been too much of a challenge.  What has been a challenge though, is dropping the bad habits I picked up during pregnancy like eating something sweet each night after dinner and introducing bagels back into my diet! And let’s not forget the 9 months spent with no alcohol…I may have added a few extra “liquid” calories back into my diet there as well.  Oh well, I enjoy every sip 🙂
What did you do to bounce back into shape after pregnancy???
++ You can read my updated 20 Week postpartum update here.++
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1 Comments

  1. Kelly wrote:

    I used the Belly Bandit pretty consistently! I don't have anything to compare it to, personally, since I never recovered from childbirth without it, but it at least helped me feel more sucked-in for that time period and maybe at least made me sweat a little more? Granted, my postpartum time frame was in May/June, so it was already god-awful hot…. But, I would use the BB again for future pregnancies. I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight by 7 weeks pp and felt confident in my skin again around 12 weeks pp. I got my BB from a local Facebook Buy Sell Trade group so I only had to pay $30 for it. I think it was at least worth that! We'll see how any subsequent pregnancies go… I know the uterus is pretty elastic once it's stretched out once, so I'm a little scared for it to happen again. We shall see!

    Posted 2.10.16

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