I prefer my puns intended

Because life can be punny.

I try wearing tight jeans but I can never pull them off…

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You may have seen the article floating around on the internet that claims having a baby is like “losing your leg and winning the lottery.”   The claims that Beaulieu makes are completely valid, although I suppose I am one of those people that has oddly loved how much my life has changed.  I made plans for my parents to watch Bennett and put him in his crib on the night of a dear friend’s wedding recently.  Before Bennett, I thought that life wouldn’t and shouldn’t change all that much.

After Bennett, however, I realized that despite how much I love everyone else in my life, my husband and son come first.  I had heart palpitations about not putting him in his crib and rocking him to sleep.  That night, instead of having a drink too many, I gave my son a bath, nursed him and put him to sleep.  It was all I wanted to do.

Having said all of that, bearing a child is not for the faint of heart.  You watch your body changing and for the first time in your life there is nothing you can do to stop it.  Your baby is growing and your body is growing with him or her.  Your body after you have the baby becomes something completely foreign…as if you are wearing a suit of yourself that seems two sizes too big.

Sure, I worked out consistently during pregnancy, especially during the second and third trimester.  My first trimester I was admittedly scared that anything I did to exert energy may result in the loss of my precious baby…so I took it easy.

My postpartum body is much stronger than I could’ve ever anticipated.  There is something about growing a life that makes you believe that you can do anything…and I mean ANYTHING.  You feel stronger, but you look in the mirror and still do not recognize what you see.  It is terrifying.

My journey to pre-baby weight began week one, when I began to walk very slowly around my neighborhood.  Week two I began walking at a faster clip and doing some light abdominal exercises.  By the third week, I reunited with my old pal Leandro to do a few Brazil Butt Lift workouts.  By week four, I was ready to walk/run and test out the speed of the Bob.  I got in two runs that week: 4 miles and 3.5 miles.  I felt sluggish, but I also felt like as long as I was getting out there that was better than nothing.

First four mile run post-baby

By week five, I wondered if I had physically pushed my limits a bit too much…so I took a break.  It may have been the longest week of my life.  I wanted so badly to be rid of my swollen belly.  I tortured myself with measuring my waist…still two inches larger than what I was pre-baby. 

Finally, it hit me.  Perhaps it was looking at my son and marveling at the fact that my body was able to incubate such an amazing little guy, and perhaps it was the realization that what took nine months to grow would take more than five weeks to shrink, but I began to give myself a break.  I focused on the positive rather than dwell in the negative.  Getting my body back shouldn’t mean sacrificing my sanity.  My job right now is to help my son to grow.  Selfishly, I would like to look and feel like myself again, but perhaps I will never get to that point because life has changed.  My body has changed.  I should be proud of myself no matter what because of the strength that I have gained from pregnancy and early parenthood.
By the sixth week, I felt proud of what I had accomplished and took a photograph to mark my progress.  
Six weeks postpartum

Last week, I logged nearly ten miles.  This week, I decided to step up the intensity of my workouts.  So far, I’ve logged 8.5 miles and two workout videos.  One was the cardio plyometric circuit from insanity…below is the result of said activity.

B is the best cheerleader!

Gross.

Today is a rest day as a result of the plyo cardio circuit.  I woke up at 5 a.m. thinking I had the flu because I was in so much pain from exerting myself with Sean T and his ridiculous demands…No sir, I will not complete that set of level 1 drills.

The journey to a pre-baby body is just that…a journey.  I’m not where I’d like to be physically, but I am where I would like to be emotionally.  I am deliriously happy with my husband and baby, and happy in myself for simply having the resolve to get out there and do something…even when the results don’t show.  After all, working out should be for your wellness, not for your vanity.
Clearly, all pride is out the window with that last photograph.