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! 

Thoughts on Body Image

Having just had a baby I think about, and work on getting my body back into shape. Since I had a sweet baby girl I also stress about teaching her to have a healthy body image as she grows up in a world where looking a certain way seems to take top priority. My baby girl may end up being tall and naturally skinny like her dad or she may end up being short and stocky like me, or a mix of the two, or something completely different. No matter how she looks though I want to teach her to love and take care of her body.

I have babysat and/or nannied for various families over the years and I have been witness to the effect parents' views on health, working out, and weight have on their children. Particularly on their daughters. These parents have inadvertently given their very young girls the wrong ideas about body image. These girls {starting as young as three years old} already stress about their weight.

I had one little girl tell me that she needed to work out more because she was getting fat. I'm pretty sure she was five years old when she said that to me. She told me that because she had seen and heard her mom say these things about her own body. This little girl saw how much her mom stressed about her weight so she thought it was something she needed to stress about as well.

I had a family of girls who I would babysit on their mom's day off from a busy schedule so that she could go to the gym for hours. These girls noticed that their mom chose to go to the gym over spending time with them and they often brought up weight and working out with me.

Another family had little girls who were weighing themselves almost every day and telling their mom how much they weighed to get her approval. {I won't even post some of the awful responses they were given when they would tell her their weight.} These children would also comment on each other's weight. With one of the little girls calling her older brother fat. When I told her that you do not call your siblings fat she responded, "Well, Mom says it." How do you respond to that?!

Another girl once said, "I need to work out more so that my daddy loves me." She was seven. This little girl thought she needed to be skinny to have her father's love because she had seen the way he pressured her mother to be skinny.

I am not judging these families because I am sure that they are all trying their hardest to do what is right for their bodies, their kids, their lives, etc. However, I do want to learn from these examples and do my best to teach my daughter {and other future children} to take care of themselves and be healthy, but even more importantly to love the beautiful bodies that God has created for them.

As I start getting my body to where I want it to be {healthy and something I am comfortable and happy in} I am also thinking about how to portray this goal to my children. I am sure that I will make mistakes but I hope to learn from them. I do not want my children to feel like my focus in life is to be skinny. I do not want them to feel like I choose working out {or any other activity} over them on a regular basis.  I want being active to be a part of our family life. Something that we do for fun AND to stay healthy. I hope that I can accomplish these things and that as our family grows we can all be healthy and happy. That's a good goal, right?

P.S. Don't forget to enter the modestpop.com giveaway!

The view on my daily run.

Family walks are a new favorite activity.