I had a doctor’s appointment this morning and stepped on the scale for the first time since my 6 week post-op appointment. Couldn’t believe it when I saw the scale dip back into the 130s for the first time in over a year. I am officially three pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight.
I ballooned up during pregnancy and ended up gaining over 50 pounds by the time I gave birth. I attribute a lot of that to water weight considering my doctor’s comments on how much fluid I had when she was stitching me up and how swollen I was in the last trimester. By the time I had my one week follow-up, I was already down 30 pounds and could comfortably fit in my old shoes again (I was wearing stretchy flips flops by the end because nothing else fit).
I stalled there for a while. At my 6-week appointment I was only down a few more pounds and still felt uncomfortable in a lot of my clothing. It wasn’t until I hit the 12 week mark that I really started to see a big difference. My face was thinning out, clothes were fitting again, and I began to appreciate what I saw in the mirror.
Thanks to breastfeeding I’m hungrier than I ever was while expecting. I crave sweets in a bad way and have been enjoying more Chick Fil A (and their milkshakes) than I care to admit. My husband bought a cookie cake for my birthday on Monday and, since he doesn’t eat gluten, the fact that the cake is almost gone on Thursday is all on me. I’m terrified of losing my supply so I’m trying to keep my calorie intake high, but could do better with my choices.
And, as I’ve mentioned before, exercise is still low on the priority list. I’m lucky if I get one 3-mile run a week. Though, I have been better with taking the stairs at work.
My point is, I’m not working hard to lose the weight, but it is (slowly) coming off. Somehow between the holidays, starting back at work, and birthday celebrations I lost fourteen more pounds. It’s crazy how our bodies work. My body worked hard to put on all the extra weight it needed to carry a healthy pregnancy and now it’s slowly coming off at its own pace while also producing enough nutrients to feed my child.
I’d be lying if I said I was 100% comfortable with my body during pregnancy because I wasn’t. I couldn’t wait to have the baby and to lose the weight. Then I had the baby and losing the weight dropped from the priority list. Now that I’m 4-months post-partum and close to my pre-pregnancy weight, I’m really glad I didn’t try to rush it or make it a focal point. My obsession was with my kid, not with the scale, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
This post isn’t a “how-to lose the baby weight” post, it’s simply one mom’s experience after giving birth. Every experience is different, but I wanted to write this in case another mom gained more weight than she expected during pregnancy and is stressing about losing the weight afterwards. Stop right now. Just think about how much you’re going to enjoy those baby snuggles and leave it at that.