So Liam turns 4 months today . . . that means he’s due for another round of vaccinations, and I’m due for a postnatal update. My work is definitely not done yet, but I do have good news: I have several pairs of pre-pregnancy pants that I can pull up and actually button! Whoohoo!
I don’t know numbers. I have yet to get on a scale since the 2 month mark. My goal has simply been to be able to feel comfortable in my pre-pregnancy clothes again, and that has slowly but surely happened. Does everything fit yet or look great? No, definitely not, but I am getting closer! I pretty much just have a bunch of extra loose skin left over that I have to patiently get rid of.
For me, it’s not worth it to play a number game until I’m done nursing. I honestly believe I need to keep some extra pounds on to maintain my milk supply. Do I know that for sure? No, but I’m not willing to find out. I’ve spoken to too many women, who have asked me about losing the final pounds, and I warn them every time that they may lose their milk. The next call I usually get is that yes, they’ve lost the weight, but that they now have to supplement. Not that there’s anything wrong with using formula, but my personal decision is to exclusively breastfeed for another 2 months, if not longer. (I made it to 13 months with my oldest). This probably means my “skinniest” jeans may not fit for a while, but hey, at least I have big boobs!
So 4 months seems to consistently be the big game changer in my postnatal journey. I also remember it being around 4 months after having Landon, my three year old, that I finally felt better in my clothes. The biggest difference this time around is that I do feel like I’m feeling more toned sooner than last time. Many of you have already been asking what I’ve been doing and how I’ve been losing the weight . . .
The overall honest answer is that I’ve really just been doing WHAT I can WHEN I can.
I’m much more balanced this time around, that is, I feel like I’ve gotten better at balancing WHAT I love with WHO I love, and I feel like my body has been very accepting and appreciative of that. (I promise to explain what I mean by that more in another blog.) Of course I have some tricks I’ve discovered along the way, some evaluations of what I’ve been doing, and some tips to share, so stay tuned in coming weeks . . . I promise to share it all here on the blog.
Thanks for following my postnatal journey thus far (You can view pics on my instagram at hastag #saraspostjourney)! For all my fellow mommies, I’d love to hear how you’re doing in the comment section below!
I enjoy all your postpartum posts. I bought your Expecting More DVDs at the beginning of my pregnancy and used them up until my doctor put me on “restricted activity.” Going from regular activity to very little, and from relatively healthy eating to much more junk (caved in to too many cravings!) caused me to gain much more weight than I wanted to, but I’m thankful to have a happy, healthy baby. I’m working diligently to get back into shape and have lost 30 pounds so far! My pre-pregnancy pants don’t quite fit yet, but it’s nice to be able to wear non-maternity skirts, dresses, and tops! I’ve got 20 pounds left to lose to get back to my prepregnacy weight. Thanks for your posts, they are motivating and encouraging. Also, thanks for the good reminder to think about my milk supply too when losing weight. Slow and steady! 🙂
Hi there! I am at the almost 12 wk post partum mark. This was my third little angel. I love reading and following your post partum journey since you’re just a month ahead of me. I had gained a total of 40 lbs and have so far lost 23 lbs. my goal is to lose 15-20 more. I am also breast feeding so I am not really restricting my calories at this point but I do watch what I eat, keeping my diet clean about 80%. I don’t know about you but this chick likes the occasional chocolate ice cream or pizza. Breastfeeding mommas need some soul food.