Something I have learned about this making babies business is simply, it takes a toll on you. And those people that tell you all of the damage is done in the first pregnancy, they lied. With each baby my body went through more damage. Bigger stretch marks. More redness to my face. More swelling. More weight everywhere! And not only that it has gotten exponentially more difficult to get back into my old clothes. I am so annoyed. By this time I was back into at least my fat pants by now, but no I am still sporting the maternity clothes and am not happy about it. I'm thinking Landon may be right that we should be done with this baby making. I mean, how fat would I be by my 6th? Yikes!
On a related note, one of my soap boxes is that as a mother of daughters I will NEVER, never let my children see me struggle with the way I look. The word fat is not going to be taught by me. They will never be the ones I look to for validation in the way I look. I will just do my best to model a healthy body image and a healthy way of taking care of myself. Making healthy meals, going for walks together. Just getting up and playing together. These are my goals.
I know a girl who also has 2 little girls. She was showing me some pictures of them and in one she told me her 4 year old thinks she looks ugly. What?! Where in the world did she even learn such a thing? My girls think they are pretty much the most gorgeous creatures on the planet- as they should. I was shocked that such a young girl could be so critical of herself already. Nuts.
But the fact is I am unhappy. I know I just had a baby but I just can't help it. One of my favorite authors on weight is a columnist for Good Housekeeping Magazine (one of my total faves by the way.) She is always talking about emotional eating (I am the queen of this.) One of her recommendations is a food journal. I decided to try it. I am not going to diet, just portion control. I find if I write down what I eat it is easier to resist the last few bites of my kids lunches, the crackers they are snacking on, the icecream in the freezer. I am not going to show it to anyone. Being accountable for it will just force me to cheat and I want to do this just for myself.
Losing weight while I am nursing is no easy thing. I am hoping with some moving around and cutting back on certain things I can get into my fat jeans soon! Wish me luck.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Older and Wider, I Mean Wiser
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6 comments:
Yeah I have really struggled to loose weight while nursing. I remember in college you talking about your cousin or aunt or somebody who got super skinny after having a baby, and wondering if I would be like that. Yeah, I'm not. I wore my maternity jeans for 4 months after having Avery. Gosh I can't imagine what the next few will be like. Totally worth it.
Reese totally looks like you by the way. I am sure you get that a lot.
Oh, Katie! I'm so sad that you are feeling unhappy. I just think you are the most adorable mom out there. You have so many amazing qualities, I'm just so sad you are having a hard time with your body image. It's such a bitter-sweet thing to have so many changes happen to your body, but have something so beautiful come out of it. Having babies definitely does a number on the body. It's so hard to accept that we will never get our "normal" figures back. Mothering is just not an easy task, but it's so worth it, even if we are never physically the same. Be easier on yourself, Katie. You are still recovering from having a baby and you have a lot on your plate.
I think the weight gain is the least of my problems (we are lucky) I believe the stretch marks and the skin/boobs sagging to the knees is my main concern! That actually will cost money and more pain to fix :( Why is it that most women just get one or maybe two bad prego side effects from having babies, while I seem to get EVERY SINGLE BODY ROTTING ONE OF THEM?
Sorry for not being more positive other than saying that it is just another show of the love we have for these babies. We sacrifice A LOT!
Wow! In your fat pants by now, usually? I just got into 1 pair of my fattest pants last week and my baby is 3 and a half months old (embarrasing), I am wearing maternity pants to work still! I bet it has nothing to do with the number of children, just age. So maybe you are just lucky you allready have 3 kids instead of just getting started (like old me)! :) My 21 year old sister likes to rub that age thing in a lot since she got into her prepregnancy pants within 2 weeks... .unbelievable.
I wore my maternity jeans til Naomi was six months old. I eventually gave away or cut up my pre-pregnant pants (and used them for quilt material).
We bought smaller plates and that really helped me cut but portion sizes. Both Trent and I lost weight doing that.
I'm a craptastic dieter, I like food, so just cutting back helped me. Naomi and I also spend some time dancing sometime during the day too.
I think your beautiful. Don't worry about what pants you fit in. Just be healthy.
Raymond & I discussed the same thing about teaching our girls about positive body image instead of what the rest of the world teaches about having to look a certain way. I get to talk positively about my own body image also, since those precious little girls hear and repeat everything we say. :)
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