I’m not going to lie…this post is hard to write because I am really putting myself out there. I would not normally post pictures of myself in a sports bra and shorts, but I want to be real and share my postnatal journey with all of my readers. When I was pregnant I wanted to know all about other’s experiences with their pregnancy and what they were going through as they entered into the world of motherhood. It is always nice to know you’re not alone with what you’re feeling emotionally and going through physically. That said, here is the start of my journey towards becoming a fit mama and getting in even better shape than I was pre-pregnancy! If you have any questions at all…I’m happy to answer.
Gaining weight during pregnancy is tough for a lot of people (myself included), but it was somewhat easy to stomach (pun intended :)) when I thought about how it was all for a great cause and was necessary in order to create a healthy baby. Once you meet your little one and fall more in love than you ever thought possible, you really don’t care about what you went through to become a mom. It is so incredibly worth it! However, the love that I have for my son doesn’t automatically create a love for my new body.
I am surprised by how weak I was after having Connor even though I continued to work out all through my pregnancy, but giving birth sure does take a toll on your body! Since I worked out literally until the day that I gave birth, it was hard for me to imagine taking too much time off from exercising after he was born. A lot of people told me that I really needed to take a full 6 weeks off, but I knew that would never work for me…I would have gone insane!
I shared some tips for fitting in workouts with a newborn a few weeks ago and I will be sharing more details about what exactly I have been doing to get back into the swing of things, but for now I want to share my progress. I have been taking pictures and measurements as well as weighing myself each week for this first month since I knew the physical changes would be most significant during this time. It really helped me to see that I was making progress even when I didn’t feel like it at times. Below I’ll share pictures from the day that I got home from the hospital, 1 week postpartum and 1 month postpartum. I will continue to track my progress each month and will share the results as well as any comments, struggles, successes and advice I have along the way.
I’m really happy with my progress so far. I have been working out and slowly…very slowly…building my strength and endurance back up. I am listening to my body and resting when I feel like I may have overdone it or pushed myself a little too far.
Nutrition during this time is SO important. I am breastfeeding so I am very aware that what I put in my body is feeding my son as well. I have been focusing on eating really well, making sure that I have enough protein and tons of fruits and vegetables. It’s tempting to go on some kind of crazy diet to take the baby weight off faster, but that would not only be horrible for Connor, it would go against everything that I recommend to clients and friends. It’s much better in the long run to lose weight slowly by eating healthy foods and exercising. It’s important to create a lifestyle you can maintain instead of looking at what you’re doing as a diet (marked by a beginning and end). Hopefully I will be able to prove this to any of you doubters with my continued progress over the next few months. 🙂
First full day home (4 days after giving birth):
YES – you still look very pregnant after you give birth! A week after I gave birth I went to pick up some lunch and got one of those “Awww congrats you are pregnant!” looks
from someone. I had to laugh.
One week after giving birth:
One month after giving birth:
I gained around 32 pounds during my pregnancy, my highest weight being 155 lbs. Below are my numbers from one week postpartum (when I started tracking) and one month postpartum.
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I look forward to sharing this journey with you all!
Hi! I just found your blog so I still need to catch up, but this post really caught my attention.
I’m not pregnant or planning to become pregnant any time soon, but this whole process fascinates me and I NEED to know everything about it! I’m weird like that. ANYWAY! You look amazing after one month of giving birth, but I want to ask…why exactly do women still look pregnant for a while after giving birth? Does it take a long time for the uterus to go back to normal? How did this affect you?
I found your blog when my sister in law sent me some pregnancy info. You had quoted one of the women at Marathon PT in a blog (where my SIL works). And then as I was looking through your posts, I recognized your husband. I went to school with him! 🙂 Just wanted to say that your baby is adorable, and you are inspiring 🙂
Hi Brooke!
So glad you found me here. Yes, I have been doing a bit of work with Abbey (she is awesome) at Marathon PT. What a small world that you went to school with my husband. He remembered you and I showed him your blog. 🙂
I read about your recent experience and will be praying for you. Keep me posted on how everything goes! Keep in touch. 🙂
Hi Julie! Glad you found me here. 🙂 Pregnancy is totally so fascinating so I don’t blame you for wanting to know more even though you’re not pregnant yet. It does take the uterus a long time to get back to normal. Generally it takes about 6 weeks (which is why Dr’s always have women come in for a 6 week postpartum appointment). Another thing that is not all that well-known is that when you first have the baby, your uterus contracts often (to help it get back to it’s normal size) so sometimes you still feel like you have a baby in there. So weird!
As for affecting me, I just wanted to make sure that I was super careful when working out not to do anything to damage my body, knowing that my uterus (as well as the rest of my body) was not back to “normal” yet!
Amanda,
I think you are so amazing to do this. It takes a lot of courage to put yourself out there like that, but your commitment to your son, readers and yourself is really admirable! Thank you for writing! I really enjoy your blog 🙂
7.5 weeks left… It’s definitely getting hard to keep up the motivation to keep working out, especially in the heat :-/
Thanks Jessica! Wow…you are almost there! Keep it up… 🙂 So excited for you!
You are making such GREAT progress so far!!! Wow! It’s amazing the changes our bodies can make. You’re so right that nothing drastic is what will make it work. Way to go!
A very delayed response, Tina, but thank you for the encouragement! It means a lot from a fellow new fit mama! 🙂
Thank you, Amanda, for your honesty and taking this brave step to educate women AND men about post-pregnancy fitness. As I write this I am 41 weeks; yes, I am anxious to meet my little one plus I am also thinking a lot about what comes next in terms of fitness and activity. Your stories have been so helpful. Thank you!!!!
So excited for you and your little one that you’ll have any moment! I’m sure you are more than ready at 41 weeks! GOOD LUCK!! Let me know if you have any questions at all or just want to chat…it’s so helpful to talk to other new moms.
Amanda, I made it to 41 weeks + 1 day! Our daughter, Audrey, was born without much of a hitch. Pretty textbook I gather.We’re all doing well. Breastfeeding is challenging but overall it’s all good!
Wow! You look awesome, my dear. One month in and such progress! So very cool.
Good for you! This is a blog that many women can benefit from. Struggling to lose baby weight is one of the hardest things to do.
Thanks! You’re right…I don’t think it’s easy for anyone!
Thanks so much gal! 🙂 I feel good about where I’m at even though I still have a ways to go!
I’m so glad you’re doing this!! I hope I have the guts to do something similar because I love seeing the amazing changes that take place. I think you are looking fabulous! I can’t wait to stop the weight gain, have my sweet baby and start the journey back to being ‘me’. I know I’ll refer to the posts in a couple months, so keep ’em up!
Thanks so much for posting your progress. You look great for only one month! I can’t wait to read more tips for getting the baby weight off. It always takes me a long, long time to get back to normal. I workout a lot and it still takes me about a year to get it all off. Any advise you can give will be well received 🙂 thanks!
Thanks so much for the positive feedback! I think everyone’s body adjusts differently to pregnancy and adjusting back afterwards. I do have to say that staying fit during pregnancy seems to have made all the difference in the world. Now just focusing on eating well and getting my strength and endurance back. The body will come back as long as I am consistent. 🙂
Thanks so much! It’s so interesting to see your progress and just see all of the changes that happen during pregnancy and afterwards. I highly recommend taking pictures and or measurements even if you don’t post just so that you can be reassured that you’re making progress even on days when you don’t feel like it! 🙂