NEWSFLASH: Body After Baby does not Exist
Hello Friends!!!
Happy Friday!
I wanted to share with you something that has pulling on my heart strings lately. And I honestly have a moment of time to sit and actually share this with you! Maybe I'm starting to enjoy the fact that Vito is in preschool a few afternoons a week. I digress...that is for another day!
SO FITNESS AFTER BABY.
When I got pregnant with Vito I was distance runner, and I share that because I think that puts me a catergorey of craziness that only that group of women will understand. SO when I got pregnant I continued to run, and run, and run and run some more.
Let this be noted that I was still struggling with self image and body confidence. During pregnancy your body goes through a lot of changes and I was scared shitless about the things that were about to take place, so I thought if I just keep running and running I would reduce many of those things. Those 'things' being excess weight gain, stretch marks, a big butt...and you guys I was so naive and was already thinking about how soon I would be able to get my body back after I had this precious little life. This may sound egocentric but in reality I was just so lost in the person that I was and thought that the amount of weight I gained or how I looked after would define me as human.
3.5 years later, and 3 babies later I wish I could go back to that girl and tell her to stop worrying about the shit that didnt' matter and to just love, relish and embrace the pregnancy. So I really wanted to write this to that girl, the girl that is worried about all the wrong things!
SO, Fitness back then, after I had by precious baby boy I couldn't wait to get back into the grind. I was comparing myself to all those other mother runner blogs and pinterest pictures of 'getting your body back' after baby and I kept telling myself I had to be that person. Quite honestly I only gained 45ish pounds with this pregnancy and came off literally with the blink of an eye. Back then it didnt' feel like but I was able to fit back into my jeans and work clothes at 12 weeks Postpartum when maternity leave ended.
Happy Friday!
I wanted to share with you something that has pulling on my heart strings lately. And I honestly have a moment of time to sit and actually share this with you! Maybe I'm starting to enjoy the fact that Vito is in preschool a few afternoons a week. I digress...that is for another day!
SO FITNESS AFTER BABY.
When I got pregnant with Vito I was distance runner, and I share that because I think that puts me a catergorey of craziness that only that group of women will understand. SO when I got pregnant I continued to run, and run, and run and run some more.
Let this be noted that I was still struggling with self image and body confidence. During pregnancy your body goes through a lot of changes and I was scared shitless about the things that were about to take place, so I thought if I just keep running and running I would reduce many of those things. Those 'things' being excess weight gain, stretch marks, a big butt...and you guys I was so naive and was already thinking about how soon I would be able to get my body back after I had this precious little life. This may sound egocentric but in reality I was just so lost in the person that I was and thought that the amount of weight I gained or how I looked after would define me as human.
3.5 years later, and 3 babies later I wish I could go back to that girl and tell her to stop worrying about the shit that didnt' matter and to just love, relish and embrace the pregnancy. So I really wanted to write this to that girl, the girl that is worried about all the wrong things!
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| This is my baby boy Vito...I can't believe he is in PRESCHOOL! |
SO, Fitness back then, after I had by precious baby boy I couldn't wait to get back into the grind. I was comparing myself to all those other mother runner blogs and pinterest pictures of 'getting your body back' after baby and I kept telling myself I had to be that person. Quite honestly I only gained 45ish pounds with this pregnancy and came off literally with the blink of an eye. Back then it didnt' feel like but I was able to fit back into my jeans and work clothes at 12 weeks Postpartum when maternity leave ended.
NEWSFLASH:
You will never get 'your body back'. You grew a human, a miraculous thing, and your body is going to be different. It may look very similar to your before you had baby but it wont be the same. And ladies that is BEAUTIFUL. Everyone is unique, and if you grew a human do you KNOW how wonderful and beautiful that is?! Your body will never be what it was before; having a baby only makes it BETTER.
Now getting your body back and feeling confident are two complete different things and it took me a few years to get this concept down. My third baby is now 7 months old , I gained about 45/50ish pounds for the THIRD time and let me tell ya, my hips grew about 3 inches. So guess what NONE of my pants fit me. STILL. I sat for a hot second trying all of them on and was beating myself up over it but it DOES NOT MATTER. Big deal my hips grew because well I've had THREE babies, it was bound to happen at some point.
What I want to share with you is that FITNESS is a TOOL as a new mother. It is a TOOL to help you feel whole, healthy, happy and strong. As new mothers you have more demands placed on you which will increase your stress load which may cause depression, anxiety or feelings of inadequacy. When you use fitness as a TOOL to lessen your stress, decrease your anxiety and provide you with a dose of happy, feel good endorphins THAT is what matters most. It does not matter that you have been working out for months and still cannot fit into your before baby pants...maybe your body has changed shape to accommodate your new role of motherhood. Let that be a POSITIVE light vs a negative light OK.
My next post is going to be dedicated to exercising SAFELY after baby because many women (if you are like me) will have your first babe and go right back doing what you were doing before; in reality that is going to cause more harm than good and I don't want that for you. Your body created life for 10 long months, so you need to work your way up to that fitness level again. There are parts of the female body that go under a serious amount of stress to have a baby and its really, really important to be aware of these changes.
Were that new mom looking for your 'body back?!' Its OK--I think it is more normal that we realize!
Cheering for you!
XO
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