Post-baby Body

Here I am again with a post-baby body. *sigh*

I seem to be stronger and have less aches and pains than last time. I guess the constant toddler wrangling pre and post King have kept me sort of fit! My arms are certainly extremely strong from all the lifting I do.

My belly is flabby, but I'm having trouble finding a moment for a set of ab exercises. Princess thinks Mummy lying on the floor is an invitation to play, and I don't often get to put King down during her naptime. Even if I do manage 15 mins of kid-free time, I tend to use it to accomplish tasks that are difficult with a child attached! And while King would be happy to be pushed along in the pram all day, Princess wants to get down to play and explore, so long walks are rare.

One thing I can try to control is my intake. Now that breastfeeding is a distant memory I'm having to deal with a very slow metabolism... I wonder if this is my body's way of conserving fat stores as a new mother? I'm sure I lost fat easier than this before I had kids!

On the upside, I am the same weight I was when I got pregnant with King so I have already lost that baby weight. Now I just need to lost the 4kg I am still carrying from Princess... not a huge amount right?

I had a small weight gain last week and decided to take action! No booze until I get under 74kg. I thought this would be an easy achievement before the weekend, but alas! it seems I will not be having any wine tonight. Unless I have a stupendous bowel movement before then... but that's a bit too much information!

Weight: 74.5kg
Goal: 70kg
NO BOOZE OVER 74kg!

Wish me luck!

Ooh! Ooh! I just stepped on the scale, and somewhere this morning I've lost over half a kilo without anything stupendous happening - I must have had water bloating! 73.8kg - I can have wine this weekend yippeee! (yes yes, but it's my only fun thing ok)

Post Preggy Body Update

Been a while, eh?

So here I am nearly 9 months after pregnancy and childbirth. I'm still carrying lots of weight, and sneezing when I need a wee is dodgy, but on the whole I think I'm pretty much back to normal.

My skin has cleared up.
My hair has grown back.
My feet and neck and back no longer ache for no reason.
My boobs fit back into my pre-preggy bras.
The extra pigmentation and linea negra have almost faded away.

I'm feeling strong and well and slightly fit - and it's fantastic. I'd forgotten just now good it is to feel normal.

I feel... ready to do it all again. We've actually been "trying" for a few months now, but each failure has been greeted with an overwhelming sense of relief from me! I wasn't ready. Now I think I am... and of course it also helps that the bank has approved a further loan on our mortgage which means we're back in the black. Phew

Post Preggy Body Update

Princess is 6 months old. Therefore, I have had 6 months in which to get my body back in shape and I should be back to at least where I was before getting pregnant, right?

Well, no.

I love eating and my baby loves sleeping so mummy is a bit sedentary and I have every last kilo of baby weight riding on my hips and bum. I am 76.5kg and steady...

I've decided to stop stressing. When Princess stops sleeping every 2 hours and wants to be out and about then we can play chase in the park or go for long walks and even maybe take up jogging with my super-expensive jogging pram!

No, I'm not giving up! I still keep an eye on what I'm eating and I do use my cross trainer several times a week and I attend a boot camp on Mondays. We eat almost no junk food and no takeaways and very little fat. My problem lies in portion control and wine. I do track my intake in Weightwatchers and I chomp/drink a good 10 extra points most days. *sigh*

Oddly enough, I have attracted a number of unsolicited compliments from my girlfriends recently. I was out for (OMG my first since Princess was born!!! Squeeee!) a girls night last week, and was told I'm looking great. I laughed of course, thinking they were just being nice. But no, seems I carry my weight well and the exercise I am doing has shaped it into curves. "Your butt looks fantastic in those jeans!" said a friend.

I'll admit, I cracked a week or so ago (when I wrote that rant about hating my body) and went shopping for a few clothes that actually fit. Jeans that don't muffin-top. Bras that don't cut. Shorts that don't gather up in the crotch. Yes, I went up a dress size for a few items... and how nice is it to have things that don't hurt to wear?! My Mom brought me a bunch of good-quality M&S cotton t-shirts that I can wear with anything and which suit my shape, and I look... ok.

Phew.

Apart from weight, where is the post-preggy-Saffa-body?

I can sneeze on a full bladder!
I can suck in my tummy and most of it obeys.
My feet still hurt most of the time but they're getting better. Luckily they are still the same size as before.
Boobies have shrunk and perked up back to where they were before pregnancy - Milord is thrilled.
My hair is a bit odd. I shed like fury during December and January, and now I see I have a thatch of new growth coming through about 1cm long.
Princess' milk feeds don't take long at all so the terrible neck-back-ache I used to have from holding her just so for the breast or bottle for half an hour at a time has eased.

So yeah. All pretty good. I'm in a very good place right now!

Post Preggy Body Update

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh! 77kg. I am again heavier than when. I. gave. birth!

Nothing fits. Dieting sucks. Exercise sucks. Hate it hate it hate it!!!

Post Preggy Body Update

Been a while since I wrote about this... because, in a word, my post-baby body is ... terrible!

I am now 1kg over the weight I was when I got home from hospital after having Princess! My willpower is shot. I have gone up a dress size and I refuse to buy anything at this size, and I refuse to wear maternity stuff, so my wardrobe is extremely limited.

Mom being here for a month was truely wonderful, but not conducive to weight loss. Mom gained 1.5kg while she was here. And so did I. On top of my baby weight!

Aaaargh!!

Now it is December. Milord is on leave until next year. We are about to go away for the holidays. Christmas is looming. I have absolutely no chance of losing weight until January. I am fat. My belly is blobbier than ever before. I am fatter than I have ever been in my life.

So - I'm focusing on January as a new start. I have rejoined Weightwatchers and hired a X-trainer so I have all the tools at my disposal. I am determined to go off the booze for the whole of Jan, and I just know that my fat will melt away at that point. I do about an hour a day on the X-trainer which I've had for a week, and it is making me fitter under the fat... bring on the New Year!

Today's weight: 76.3kg. ugh.

In other news:

My hair is shedding like crazy. Most women dislike this but I'm chuffed! I have such fine hair that when it is thick it goes limp and heavy, and now that it's thinning back to normal I'm getting better lift and volume. I'm also lightening my colour now that Princess is so much easier to handle and root maintenance is not a time issue. I have found a hairdresser locally who does a good short cut and at least my hair looks good!

My boobies have shrunk to a small C. Luckily their shape is still perky.
On the positive side my pre-preggy shirts fit properly again.
On the negative side my belly looks even bigger against little boobs.

I got my first period this year at about 3 months post delivery, and 2 months after stopping breastfeeding. It was a doozie! I've always had light periods, and this was a super-tampon-plus-pad every couple of hours. yuck. I hope the next one is better! No cramping though, for which I am grateful.

Sneezing is no longer a problem bladder-wise so I guess my pelvic floor has regained tone.

Sort of on that subject... Milord has told me that he'd like to try for kid #2 now. I've been saying that when Princess is 6 months old we'll start trying (because I'm almost 38). Which is March and not all that far away. I'm not ready to be pregnant again yet! Even March sounds too soon to go through it all again.

Then again what's a couple of months difference?

So I've told him to shag me loads and see what happens ;-). Could be a very good holiday season!

*snigger*

Princess Update

Ooh, where did the week go? All is great here, we've just been busy...

I've decided that as Princess is 7 weeks old it is time to get more structure in my life, and to get out and exercise several times a week to get my body back in shape. My metabolism had flatlined - I wasn't eating all that much but I was beginning to gain weight on top of the 2kg of baby weight I still have. Unacceptable!

There is a huge stunning park about half an hour from home called Centennial Park. It's enormous and has playing fields, lakes, ponds, horse and cycle tracks, and a 40min pedestrian/pram circuit. I have set myself the goal of doing the circuit with Princess in her pram 3 times a week.

So that takes up most of 3 of my weekdays - I try to get out of the door by 10, finish the circuit at midday, and then relax under a tree with my book. Lovely, and it feels great to be out of the house! Princess doesn't mind where she sleeps, eats or has her nappy changed so that's easy provided I have enough gear with me.

...damn, lost the rest of this post and now I don't have time to rewrite it. Oh well.

Post Preggy Body Update

It's been 6 weeks since I pushed Princess into the world. Gee, is that all? It feels like months!

My weight hasn't changed in the past 3 weeks. Seeing as I am only breastfeeding a couple of times a day I can no longer use that as an excuse to eat everything in sight, and Milord and I are trying to get back into healthy low-cal eating for the first time since I got pregnant. It's a hard habit to break!

Exercise doesn't really happen yet - I still clamber into bed for a nap rather than go for a walk if Princess sleeps in the afternoon. Or I catch up on housework. It will come... Princess is starting to sleep for longer periods at night so I will need the afternoon nap less and less (hopefully!).

I can however fit back into my pre-pregnancy clothes now - woohoo! Tops are tight over the bigger boobs, and I can only get into my "fat" trousers, but it is so nice to get out of the maternity clothes I have been restricted to for the last 7 months.


All discharge stopped "down there" in week 4 and my stitches went away about then too. Finally! For anyone who is pregnant and panicking because their libido has disappeared - have no fear, it comes back as soon as the pregnancy is over. Everything seems to be working well in that department and I'm getting no complaints!

Sneezing with a full bladder is still a disaster waiting to happen, but I do my pelvic floor exercises when I remember and it's getting better.

I still have really thick hair - the extra should begin falling out in clumps in about 4 weeks time. I should be dreading it but actually I am looking forward to getting my normal hair back because I can't figure out how to manage this stuff without changing my haircut!

Post Preggy Body

As I said in my last post, Princess is 3 weeks old. So, my body has had 3 weeks to recover from pregnancy and birth...

...can I just say that I almost feel like a fraud when I say "recover from birth"? My experience was so relaxed and painfree it seems like there should be nothing to recover from. It is only when I go for a walk and develop an ache afterward that I think "Oh yeah, I gave birth the other day! Better take it easy".

As with most things to do with Princess I have been very lucky. When we got home from hospital I was only 4kg over my pre-conception weight, and I've lost 2 of those since. I am not dieting by any means, but I don't seem to have the uncontrollable munchies that other breastfeeding women talk about so the extra weight is gently melting off. If I was to cut out the chocolate, cheese and pate I'm sure I could drop those final kilos easily but a girl needs a reason to get out of bed, right?

I am still in maternity jeans because I can't get into my pre-preggy trousers. They say my hips will have widened to help childbirth... I hope my hips go back into place or I will have to go up a pants size! Or is this a myth and it's a new fat distribution? These trousers have fitted me in the past when I was this weight... I wonder.

My tummy is obviously a bit flabby, but with my bigger hips and boobs it sort of looks ok - it took me a while to get used to a soft tummy again after 6 months of carrying a hard drum around! My tummy muscles are very soft and stretched, but I'm doing a few gentle core and ab exercises every day (when I remember) and I think I feel a little toning happening under the flab. I also do pelvic floor exercises at random times in the day when I think of it, and sneezing is less likely to make me damp myself!



Princess and I go for a walk every few days, but I'd rather be catching up on sleep instead so if she is settled we don't go anywhere. Today I napped. Yesterday she was screaming so we walked around the neighbourhood for an hour. I passed a number of schools as they let out with Princess going "wah... wah... wah... WAH... WAH... WAH... wah... wah...". I felt like handing out birth control pamphlets to all the youngsters!

My lochia (post natal bleeding) pretty much stopped at 2 weeks. I just need panty liners now to catch the smidgen that's still coming. I'll be very happy when I don't need those anymore - pads gross me out. My uterus shrank back very fast apparently - when I was still in hospital they'd prod me and go "wow, that was quick". Excellent.

I still have an episiotomy stitch or two that I can feel when I wash - I assume they will fall out any day now. Everything in that area has healed very nicely. Even in the first couple of days weeing was not a problem, and bowel movements were just fine. Wiping afterward was a problem though! I'd end up squatting in the bath to wash instead, and just gently pat the area dry with toilet paper.

My boobs are not much bigger than when I was pregnant - I seem to be a size D now. I got really hard sore boobs when my milk came in, but since then they're not too bad. Princess doesn't go long enough between feeds for my boobs to get very engorged. I do have leakage - mostly from the boob not in use when feeding - so I'm wearing pads for that. Charming. I love having pads stuck all over my body! Luckily the breast pads have adhesive strips so I can wear them in a vest top at night as I'd hate to have to sleep in a bra.

Measurements:
Weight: 73.5kg
Boobs: 100cm (this varies a lot depending on feeding)
Ribs: 85cm (3 more than pre pregnancy)
Waist: 90cm (3 more than pre pregnancy)
Hips: 102cm (4 more than pre pregnancy)
Thigh: 58cm (same as pre pregnancy)