A few days after the birth of my son, I lay in bed crying. No, it wasn’t from the C-section pain. It wasn’t postpartum depression. It wasn’t lack of sleep (although that didn’t help).
I had just touched my post-pregnancy belly for the first time.
And it was…..squishy.
I never had awesome washboard abs of steel or anything, but my stomach had been decently firm and not too round for most of my adult life. On my list of likes and dislikes concerning my body, it was a steady resident of the “Acceptable” category (unlike my thighs….).
Suddenly I had a tummy that was soft and jiggly and nothing at all like the tummy I remembered. WHOSE BODY WAS THIS?!
Ten months later, that tummy is still with me. I lost my pregnancy weight very quickly thanks to a 9.5-lb baby, breastfeeding, and God’s provision. Adding a weekly Zumba class has helped my physical and emotional fitness. I’ve even started buying pants in a smaller size.
Yet the baby belly remains, threatening to return me to those bigger pants and mocking me with it’s squishy, shapeless form.
A dear friend of mine said that one day, a year or so after her son was born, she finally did find some muscle in her tummy again. So I can hope. And do crunches. And complain to y’all.
But in the meantime, I do want to say —
It was totally worth it!
Yep…I mean, I’ve ALWAYS had the squishy belly…so I can’t even conceive of the belly falling into the acceptable category (unlike my thighs, sometimes! 🙂 ), but the weight is definitely redistributed…and I gained less than 5 pounds and lost 20 pumping. Even then, I never lost much in the squishy belly. And, mind you, I gained every bit of that 20 back during last year’s RSV season. Now I can’t get motivated to even attempt to get rid of it b/c I’m hoping to have another baby belly soon. I’m hoping that if I have another section, they can just carve out some blubber with the baby. That’s not too much to ask, is it?
p.s. Ian looks like an old man. I need to see him before he goes to college, please.
My sister summed it up nicely when she said her stomach was much like a waterbed. Ack! And true. Although under this waterbed are abs of steel courtesy of East Park BOOT CAMP!! Even with my second baby belly growing currently it was totally worth it!
Speasio – yes! we should get together soon. when is good? after RSV season?
the Musician– boot camp? so impressed!
Oh no! It’s been almost seven weeks for me and I keep thinking, “any day now.” Apparently not. I’m still 10 pounds over pre-pregnancy weight (I think it’s here to stay) but it’s the squishy belly that’s getting me down. Mine’s never been great, either but this is just yucky. I guess I need to do crunches. As if I feel like exercising.
Lesley
lesleyeats.blogspot.com
What a great attitude and commitment you have. You keep the main thing the main thing. Firm tummy will come if you keep up the work. Hugs help too.
Kaye