Baby Weight

I am simply amazed. That's all there is to it. When thinking about getting pregnant and through growing measurably in size during pregnancy I figured I would never look this way again. Well, I'm amazed.

Before even getting pregnant I began gaining weight. I wanted to be prepared, you know! :) Just in case! So I probably weighed 2-5 pounds over my normal weight when I found out I was pregnant. During the pregnancy I steadily gained about a pound a week. I really didn't feel like I ate a TON more than I usually did but I did snack on crackers and other things between meals a little more. And, now that I think of it, I would keep crackers by the bed and even eat them in the middle of the night when I woke up starving to death. By the end of the pregnancy I had gained pobably at least 35-40 pounds. though, to tell you the truth, I lost track of exactly how much I weighed and gained towards the end.

Kaelyn weighed 8lbs 6 ounces when she was born so I knew I lost at least that much! Plus all the water weight etc that comes off in the days after. I should have kept track of what I lost on what days but I was probably a little bit busy in those days. You know, feed the baby, burp the baby, change the baby, repeat! There were days when would lose 5 pounds in a DAY, though, back right after she was born. Other days were just 1 pound or 2.

Let me just say, before Kaelyn was born I used to run 5 miles a day on my elliptical machine. It helped wake me up in the morning and I enjoyed watching movies while doing that. Since Kaelyn was born I have taken a few walks here and there but I haven't run a single step! She's 7 months old now. I can't imagine how out of breath I'll be when I finally do get back into it. I'm pretty sure I'll feel like I'm dying but so far I haven't figured out how to make the time for it so I won't worry about it just yet.

Anyways, a few months after Kaelyn was born the fast weight loss stopped. I would only lose a pound every week or every couple of weeks. When I reached about 10 pounds over my norm it all just stopped completely. I figured, well, this is what I'm going to weigh now. At least until I could figure out how/when to work out again. Oh well, what do you do.

I resigned myself a little too early, however, because in later months more came off. Slowly, but still! I can't believe that I am able to say after having a baby, gaining probably 40 pounds, doing nothing, not working out, eating constantly, I now weight 15 pounds less than is normal for me. Less than I've ever weighed in my life. Except for maybe in 6th grade. ;)

So, I sit around and eat and lost all the weight and then some? Not fair! How did that happen? Well, I bounce and play with Kaelyn all day. I get up several times a night with her. And I breastfeed. That's really the only thing I can attribute it to. Because I eat a ton. I always say she just sucks it out of me cause where else does it go? Most people eat three meals a day, right? I eat probably 6-7 times a day. Not full meals necessarily, but still more than average for me. Kaelyn, at 7 months, eats ever 3-3 1/2 hours, right? Well, so do I! :)

My mom has decided I no longer have a butt and she needs to bulk me up a bit. I'm over at her house visiting for a week around Thanksgiving and I've taken her up on that challenge. I've eaten everything offered and then some. Though I have to admit it's not any more than I would have eaten at home. I don't have a scale here but my skinny jeans (you know, the jeans you bought that you always WANTED to fit in but never did...the ones that I could never wear before being pregnant) still fit.

So thank you Kaelyn from sucking it out of me! I didn't need to deal with all the baby stuff, being tired, worrying if I'm doing things right, trying to keep her baby, etc, AND feeling huge at the same time. However, I do have to wonder...once she becomes a big girl and eats REAL food, will I be able to stop eating so much? Will the magic of her sucking it all out of me stop and will it all pile back on? I don't mind going back to my normal weight, but I certainly enjoy where I am! Especially since I don't have to run 5 miles a day to get there!! And can eat anything and everything I want!

The moral of the story...my story, at least, I know it doesn't work that way for everyone...want to lose weight? Have a baby. Then eat whatever you want. And breastfeed. Don't worry about the diet pills and the magic formulas. Just have a baby! :) Just breastfeed! Of course, you have to give up quite a bit of your life in the meantime. Not only just having a kid around, which is lifechanging in itself, but tying yourself down to breastfeeding is a big deal. Forget about going very far alone cause you can't leave a hungry baby with people that can't feed her! Well, you can, but that's just mean.

There's always pumping and all that good stuff but I haven't messed with that. I figured she'd only do it for a year or so and I didn't want to mess with sterilizing bottles and keeping the milk fresh in the freezer or whatever. It seemed complicated to me. Though now I wish I had because perhaps when Kaelyn is done with me I could continue pumping and keep these weight results?? :)

To be continued, only time will tell what Kaelyn's upcoming independence will to do me! But at least for now I can wear these jeans!!