5 Tips to Be Happier in Your Post-Baby Body

Now that you all have heard my thoughts on body image I thought I would share a little bit more about what it's like having a post-baby body and what I am doing to be be healthy and to love my body.

Some people seem to get their bodies right back after having a baby. That might actually be true for some people but I'm pretty sure for most of us it takes quite bit of work to get our bodies back to where we would like them to be. After spending a whopping 42 weeks pregnant and getting stretch marks ALL over my body I am more uncomfortable in my body than I have ever been before. But, I have been doing lots of different things to be happy in this incredible body that created a baby. And surprisingly they don't all involve working out like a crazy maniac. Here are my five tips to being happy in your post-baby body:

1. Get out of bed and get dressed. As hard as it can be to get up and get dressed every day I do believe this is one of the most important things to do to feel better about your body. Even if it doesn't happen until four in the evening {as it often does for me} it can still help to brighten your day. Other things I try to do along with getting dressed are the little things like my hair and makeup. And I even bought some nail polish {in a pretty fall color} and had Race watch Holland for a few minutes so I could paint my nails. 

2. Get out of the house. Now this isn't something I have accomplished every day but I do feel that it is important to do and it kind of goes hand in hand with getting dressed. It gives you a reason to put some cute clothes on.  Sometimes getting out of the house just means going on a family walk for a few minutes but it still changes things up which I think we all need. And you get to show off your baby to everyone you run into! 

3. Treat yourself to some new clothes! A few weeks after I had Holland I was really unhappy with my sparse clothing collection. {Most of my pre-pregnancy clothes are still in storage and the clothes I wore during pregnancy I am a little bored with since I wore them a lot the last few months. Also, ALL my pre-pregnancy jeans were packed away.} So I went shopping. We are on a tight budget right now {while we're hoping and praying that Race finds a job here in Idaho} so I just got myself one really nice pair of jeans...that actually fits. They were expensive {at least compared to what I normally spend on jeans} but they are the most comfortable pair of jeans I've ever owned and I am going to make them last for a long time! {Check out Levi Curve ID jeans} Since our budget is a little tight I have started sewing myself things to save on money. I made myself a shirt by making a pattern off of a shirt from Old Navy that I absolutely love {and hides the post-baby bump quite well}. I am still pretty new to this whole sewing thing so it didn't turn out perfect but it hides the bump and I learned from my mistakes so I'll do better next time! I also have plans for some new skirts and a couple of other fun sewing projects to dress my new body. The one other thing I splurged on {using a Target giftcard} were workout clothes. It might be silly but cute new workout clothes definitely helped motivate me to get out of the house and start working on this body! 

4. Eat well and drink lots of water. I really don't know much about nutrition at all but I do know that when you're nursing you need to eat more than normal {more information here} and drink lots of water. My mom always tells me to drink at least one glass of water every time you sit down to nurse. And then you need to be drinking lots in between feedings as well of course. I am not dieting at all right now because I know I need to be eating well to produce enough milk for my little one. And I don't want to be stressing about it because that can also slow milk production. So while I am not dieting I am definitely focusing on eating well and drinking lots of water.
5. Exercise. Right now I am working on running a little bit every day and doing some ab workouts. I am trying to be careful with how hard I go on my body since I did have major surgery but it feels so good to be working out again.  I know that losing weight can take time and it can be frustrating to watch nothing happen on the scale so instead of weighing myself all the time and focusing on that as my working out goal I have decided to sign up for a race in the next couple of months so that I have something else to focus on and work towards. 

While I am working on getting my body back into shape I do think it is important to remember that my body may not ever be exactly like it was before I had a baby. And that is okay. I just try to view these more permanent changes to my body {like stretch marks} as a reminder of the miracle that I was able to be a part of. These five things are working for me and helping me to be happy in this new, different body and I hope that these tips help someone else out there as well. 

Oh, and before I go I do not want to forget to mention my wonderful husband. Race supports me in my goals, lets me go out and buy expensive jeans, and tells me every single day that I am beautiful. He is the best. I love him and I couldn't do any of this without him!