Although I never filled out the week-by-week pregnancy surveys that I've seen on (many) blogs, I thought it would be fun to do one now.
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How far along? 50 weeks (close to 1 year) postpartum... is that too long to be considered "postpartum"???
Total weight gain/loss: +8 lbs (from average pre-pregnancy) -- yes, I'm actually going to post pics even though the only other points of comparison was when I got temporarily pretty fit after a disciplined round or two of Insanity.
Basically, I now have an extra layer of padding everywhere, especially in the middle. Just being matter-of-factly here. I didn't have much "body confidence" before having a baby because I wasn't at my goal, either. Now, though, I can step back and just state things with fewer feelings involved (although keep reading below).
Maternity clothes? No, back in my old clothes, mostly, though some cause more muffin top than I'd like, and sometimes it looks like I'm ~4 months along with the next one (though I guess that sometimes happened pre-baby, too). -___- In particular, tucking in buttoned shirts is just something I don't really try right now because they really just pop right out more than before. Also, the chest/upper body area causes the buttoning to not work very well, and I'm not even large in that department. I think I really just need a new work wardrobe but lack time/confidence to actually try stuff on.
Sleep: The longest stretch I've had in the past year is 6 1/2 hours, once. On average, I get about 4-5 in a row before a wakeup, then about 1-2 more hours of broken sleep. Once or twice a week, there will be a "zinger," which means 3-5 wakeups. This is a vast improvement from before, though! Morning coffee (and I no longer discriminate as much as I used to) has become important. I try to take one nap per weekend, though sometimes it turns out to be 15 minutes... and when it's not, it FEELS like 15 minutes. I greatly underestimated the length of time I'd be sleep-deprived.
Best moment this week: We took him to Souplantation (one of my favorite places to eat), and he ate most of his meal unassisted. We left a nice tip for the mess.
Movement: Cruising (walking while holding onto furniture or any other object possible, like the Bumbo. He inherited one after he learned to sit on his own, and just as I was about to get rid of it, he decided it was a great toy.
Food cravings: Coffee, chocolate, kale, whipped cream cheese, soups, pretzel buns... basically whatever I can acquire easily
Anything making you queasy or sick: A lack of sleep and certain diapers!
Leakage: No, this happened in the very early days, mostly in the middle of the night (who knows why since I was up often), but who knows what the future has in store...
Belly Button in or out? In, deeper than it used to be, and although it's gotten much fainter, I still have that dark line running below it and a lovely pink/red 5+inch scar perpendicular to it.
Wedding rings on or off? My bigger ring (engagement) fits snugly, so I don't really wear it. Wedding ring is tiiiiight, so I've pretty much given up on rings. I think part of me is holding out that I'll fit them after weaning, but probably not.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Definitely more happy than moody now, though I'd say this has been a tug-of-war this year. This having an infant thing is hard, and I struggle with feelings of guilt, restriction, longing, etc. all the time. As he's getting older and more interactive (i.e., less crying), it does lighten the mood a lot.
Weekly Wisdom: A part of me is embarrassed that I, as someone who is supposedly health-conscious, am still hanging on to extra weight after all this time, even though I probably shouldn't feel that way. As much as I want to be "normal" again, I understand that having a baby has possibly changed me forever in ways that may not be "fixable," especially at this current point in time. Although it's hard for me to process most days due to years of conditioning and the media, health should be my real focus so that I can be a parent to my child, who is currently the focus of most of my bandwidth, which is okay and expected. Hopefully, everything else falls into place someday.
Milestones: I have found a way to exercise with the baby around. Sometimes, I will do videos with the baby there, which cuts out some of my excuses to be inactive. It's normally just Pilates or body weight work, and I definitely get interrupted 15438580 times, but I'm secretly hoping that the baby will start imitating me someday for a good laugh.
I'm also finally feeling like I'm getting some of my core strength back after being strettttched and sliced open, though I have a long way to go. In particular, I find laying on my front (for lower back exercises and things like that) uncomfortable because my lower ab area feels like it has little to no muscle tone. That means more core work for me!
------
How far along? 50 weeks (close to 1 year) postpartum... is that too long to be considered "postpartum"???
Total weight gain/loss: +8 lbs (from average pre-pregnancy) -- yes, I'm actually going to post pics even though the only other points of comparison was when I got temporarily pretty fit after a disciplined round or two of Insanity.
Basically, I now have an extra layer of padding everywhere, especially in the middle. Just being matter-of-factly here. I didn't have much "body confidence" before having a baby because I wasn't at my goal, either. Now, though, I can step back and just state things with fewer feelings involved (although keep reading below).
Maternity clothes? No, back in my old clothes, mostly, though some cause more muffin top than I'd like, and sometimes it looks like I'm ~4 months along with the next one (though I guess that sometimes happened pre-baby, too). -___- In particular, tucking in buttoned shirts is just something I don't really try right now because they really just pop right out more than before. Also, the chest/upper body area causes the buttoning to not work very well, and I'm not even large in that department. I think I really just need a new work wardrobe but lack time/confidence to actually try stuff on.
Sleep: The longest stretch I've had in the past year is 6 1/2 hours, once. On average, I get about 4-5 in a row before a wakeup, then about 1-2 more hours of broken sleep. Once or twice a week, there will be a "zinger," which means 3-5 wakeups. This is a vast improvement from before, though! Morning coffee (and I no longer discriminate as much as I used to) has become important. I try to take one nap per weekend, though sometimes it turns out to be 15 minutes... and when it's not, it FEELS like 15 minutes. I greatly underestimated the length of time I'd be sleep-deprived.
Best moment this week: We took him to Souplantation (one of my favorite places to eat), and he ate most of his meal unassisted. We left a nice tip for the mess.
Movement: Cruising (walking while holding onto furniture or any other object possible, like the Bumbo. He inherited one after he learned to sit on his own, and just as I was about to get rid of it, he decided it was a great toy.
Food cravings: Coffee, chocolate, kale, whipped cream cheese, soups, pretzel buns... basically whatever I can acquire easily
Anything making you queasy or sick: A lack of sleep and certain diapers!
Leakage: No, this happened in the very early days, mostly in the middle of the night (who knows why since I was up often), but who knows what the future has in store...
Belly Button in or out? In, deeper than it used to be, and although it's gotten much fainter, I still have that dark line running below it and a lovely pink/red 5+inch scar perpendicular to it.
Wedding rings on or off? My bigger ring (engagement) fits snugly, so I don't really wear it. Wedding ring is tiiiiight, so I've pretty much given up on rings. I think part of me is holding out that I'll fit them after weaning, but probably not.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Definitely more happy than moody now, though I'd say this has been a tug-of-war this year. This having an infant thing is hard, and I struggle with feelings of guilt, restriction, longing, etc. all the time. As he's getting older and more interactive (i.e., less crying), it does lighten the mood a lot.
Weekly Wisdom: A part of me is embarrassed that I, as someone who is supposedly health-conscious, am still hanging on to extra weight after all this time, even though I probably shouldn't feel that way. As much as I want to be "normal" again, I understand that having a baby has possibly changed me forever in ways that may not be "fixable," especially at this current point in time. Although it's hard for me to process most days due to years of conditioning and the media, health should be my real focus so that I can be a parent to my child, who is currently the focus of most of my bandwidth, which is okay and expected. Hopefully, everything else falls into place someday.
Milestones: I have found a way to exercise with the baby around. Sometimes, I will do videos with the baby there, which cuts out some of my excuses to be inactive. It's normally just Pilates or body weight work, and I definitely get interrupted 15438580 times, but I'm secretly hoping that the baby will start imitating me someday for a good laugh.
I'm also finally feeling like I'm getting some of my core strength back after being strettttched and sliced open, though I have a long way to go. In particular, I find laying on my front (for lower back exercises and things like that) uncomfortable because my lower ab area feels like it has little to no muscle tone. That means more core work for me!
Baby Tuesday looks like he's moving fast with that Bumbo! We got one as a hand me down, but by the time I thought to use it X seemed annoyed, uninterested. I think we gave it to Goodwill before we moved.
ReplyDeleteI think I may weigh more today than when I left the hospital. Womp womp.