Well getting back into "shape" is the very general and superficial idea of getting your pre pregnancy "self" (aka body) back after having a baby. Of course this is priority number one, even before the infamous getting baby to "sleep through the night". However, what you can't possibly understand when going through your first pregnancy is that there is no such thing as getting back your pre pregnancy SELF at all! Ok, so maybe you lose the weight and fit back into your old clothes within a couple of months after delivery (if you're one of the lucky ones) but what about the rest of your "self" you've so dearly missed and eagerly awaited? I find myself constantly thinking "didn't I used to be an extremely driven and productive person?" or "emotionally stable person?" "Didn't I used to finish the projects I started?" "Fullfill the goals I set for myself?" "Didn't I used to have a purpose?". What happened to the me I remember and love?? When do the hormones settle down and emotions even out? EVER??? Not if you talk to anyone who has grown kids. Apparently, one of the dirty little secrets of parenthood is that - SORRY - parenthood doesn't only last 18 years or until the kid goes off to college. Suddenly you're thrust into a world that was always there...you just couldn't see it because you were the child and had yet to experience or understand life or the world from the perspective of being the parent. Side note here: it reminds me of our spiritual state as human beings...surrounded daily by the spiritual battle going on constantly around us at all times. We cannot see it or begin to understand it because we have yet to enter into the Kingdom of God and have our eyes open to that world. So many parallels between scripture and parenthood. Why that surprises me I can't even begin to say...after all, didn't God himself set that up by declaring himself our heavenly "Father"?? Should've seen it coming.
Anyways, back to the whole "getting back in shape" dilemma every women dreads going through pregnancy (or at least every normal woman!). These are the rules I've come up with so far, based on my experience with my first pregnancy:
1. Depending upon your fitness level before getting pregnant, continue to exercise, though at a lower intensity level, throughout your pregnancy. Though this will change with each trimester (and perhaps even week to week some months) it is important to continue doing something. I was running and cycling almost every day before I got pregnant and toned that down to walking every day throughout my pregnancy as long as I was doing something I was ok with what that was. I will say, however, during my first trimester I was so sick and tired I literally did NOTHING at all, something that I will not repeat if I ever go through a second pregnancy!
2. DIET! No...I did NOT say GO on a diet, I said diet. Websters Dictionary defines diet as: a) food and drink regularly provided or consumed b) habitual nourishment. So that means, if you're not on one already, you need to get on a healthy eating track and stay on it througout your pregnancy. This was probably the most critical part of my pregnancy and being able to bounce back so quickly.
3. Omega 3's and other essential fatty acids. I personally stayed away from fish oil and supplemented with a lot of flax seed and flax oil all the way up until my third trimester. At that point, I swear my brain cells were falling out of my ears so I started taking a high quality DHA fish oil extracted from sardines which are less likely to have any kind of toxicity. These are especially important during the third trimester when baby is rapidly developing brain cells and connections. This was the only supplement I took throughout my pregancy. I'm not advocating that, just relaying my own experience.
So those are the "during pregnancy" rules I'll follow next time I'm pregnant (if there ever is a next time!). As far as post partum is concerned?? Well I lost about 20 of the 33 lbs I gained within the first 2 weeks and the last 10 seem to be clinging to me as though my life depends on it. I had an episiotomy so recovery was a bit slower, longer and more painful that I would have liked, but I began walking, SLOWLY, just before the 3 week mark. By 5 weeks I was walking two hours at a time, up to 4-5 miles at a time, and riding my bike indoors for up to 30 minutes. Now, just shy of 8 weeks, I just completed my first 2 hour strenuous hike on Saturday, am going to the gym and doing the stair stepper for 45 minutes daily, doing spin classes at least once a week or whenever my schedule and Lane's work together to allow them, lifting weights 3 times a week and doing ab workouts daily.
That's the physical recovery part of things, unfortunately the emotional and hormonal side of the experience is much more complicated and impossible to dictate. As I continue to remind myself, several times throughout each day, that being a mommy and being with my baby is the most important calling a woman can have in life and I am blessed with a situation that allows me to fullfill that role. Therefore, my one and only plan and strategy for now is to pray daily that God continue to grant me patience and grace as I navigate this strange new world of "mommyhood"
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