Postpartum: 4 Months

The last time I wrote about my post-pregnancy body, I was 1 week postpartum.  A LOT has changed since then!  I loved taking my weekly bump update photos to see the changes in me as Lucy was growing but obviously stopped once she was born.  Because of this, I really hadn't noticed a huge change in my body until I took a 4 month postpartum picture and compared it to 1 week postpartum. 

 

When I left off at 1 week postpartum, I was 3 pounds above my pre-pregnancy weight and my stomach was very soft.  At 10 days postpartum, I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight and hung out there for about the next 2 months.  I started running around 2-3 weeks after I had Lucy and was back to teaching Spin/TRX at exactly 1 month after she was born.  I felt really good with how quickly I bounced back but was also hoping to get my core back to where it was pre-pregnancy.  Since I worked out until the end of my pregnancy, my fitness level & running paces improved quickly.  Emotionally though, my hormones were all over the place for those first couple weeks after labor.  I definitely had the "baby blues" and would just start crying out of the blue for no reason.  I remember crying one night when we were eating dinner and telling Todd that I didn't know why I was crying.  I was so happy to have Lucy and wasn't sad but I couldn't stop crying.  Luckily, that passed after a few weeks but I was still emotionally drained as Lucy was pretty fussy during the day and we had a hard time getting her to sleep at night.

 

Now, 4 months later, I feel so good and cannot believe I'm already back to running as well as I am.  Somewhere around 2.5-3 months after Lucy was born, I all of a sudden started dropping more weight.  I read though that this can be quite common when breastfeeding.  I'm also thirsty ALL THE TIME which is very unlike me.  I'm now 7 pounds under my pre-pregnancy weight and at my lowest weight in about 5 years. I'd like to attribute this to working out but I'm sure the majority of it is from nursing. I'm very proud though that I'm still working out and running like I was before I had Lucy in terms of fitting in my workouts.  A lot of people complain about not having time, which I totally understand now, but this is why I wake up most mornings between 4:45-5:00 AM.  If I get up this early, I can pump, work out, shower, get Lucy up, ready, and fed, and take her over to my parent's house by 7:20 AM so I can make it to work by 8:00 AM.  It also means I'm usually in bed by 9:30 PM at night but since Lucy is usually asleep by 8:00 PM, it still gives Todd & I some time together in the evenings.

 



Comparing my last week of pregnancy, first full week after having Lucy, and 4 months later

One more comparison picture at the same time intervals

 



In terms of my fitness, I'm running as well as I was a couple years ago in the winter/spring before I PR'ed at the Akron Marathon so this is what keeps me motivated.  It feels good to push myself since I wasn't able to work out and run as hard last year when I was pregnant. I have plans to run a 10 miler in Cleveland with Emily, the Cap City Half Marathon in May, a 5K in June, and hopefully the Columbus Marathon on October.  I'm beyond excited to start running outside once it warms up and use the jogging stroller we got for Christmas.  My core strength is also back to where it was prior to pregnancy although I was surprised it took as long as it did to finally feel like my stomach wasn't soft and to see that I actually had some abs in there after all. My other concern when I was pregnant that I had heard other women complain about was my hips or thighs getting bigger and never going back to the size they were before but this was never an issue for me.  Again, I attribute this to staying active throughout my pregnancy.  I honestly feel like this is what makes such a difference post-pregnancy (well, that and breastfeeding!).

 

Emotionally, I feel like I'm in a really great place.  I love working part-time, putting my degrees to use, getting some adult interaction, and contributing to our family budget but I also love that I get to spend my afternoons & evenings with Lucy and be her mom.  It seems like Todd & I have finally found a good balance between being parents and being a married couple. 

 

It really blows my mind that it's already been 4 months since I had Lucy.  It's gone by so fast but at the same time, it seems like it was forever ago that I was pregnant.  I hardly even remember what that felt like!  Hoping to report back again in a few more months and while I'm not looking to lose any more weight, I'm looking forward to setting some PRs this year in several distances...something I didn't think would be possible once I had a baby.