Happy Friday friends!
Wow..what a crazy SNOWY week we have all had. Hope yall are all thawing out :)
2 week postpartum thoughts
The last two weeks have pretty much gone by in the blink of an eye. Its funny how you go from one kid ((which you think is completely overwhelming)) to two kids ((a total adjustment and was even harder for me to adapt)) to THREE which …is just a complete circus ha! Probably hasn’t helped that its been zero degrees out, there’s been no school, and there has been 2 feet of snow! Can we say #CABINFEVER ?!!!
Tuesday was the first day that I had all 3 kids on my own for an extended period of time (like..6 hours)). …lets just say there is NO down time…and it is completely exhausting. haha. That also could be because I haven’t slept for longer than a 2.5-3 hr stretch in 3 weeks!!
It could have gone better…but it also could have gone worse. But with all that said.. I definitely feel like I’m adjusting to life with three better than life with two I don’t want to completely call it.. cause it’s still early days… but that’s the way it’s feeling anyways! I think once you hav mastered having two kids on your own, you’re used to playing zonal-so whats another one in the mix? LOL. I also think I’m more laid back about schedules, etc now that I’ve had to play zonal being on my own a lot for bedtime, etc. with 2.
Sammy is doing well and seems to have woken from his “newborn sleepiness”…which in a way is good, but in some ways bad. ha. I swear the amount of times he falls asleep on me and I set him down only to hear cries 2 minutes later….unfortunately with 2 other kids that need meals, attention, etc. its impossible for me to hold him nonstop. Luckily I saved one of my baby wraps so I strapped him in yesterday successfully and as I feel better and better after the c-section will be using it more and more…because I’m gonna need all the hands I can get.
I did a broad recap last week of how things were going after one week postpartum last week. This week I’m touching on where I’m at physically— thoughts after having baby 3, on my body, and fitness.
Mindset on going into Baby 3 Pregnancy:
To be honest, I was pretty scared about what my body was going to be like after this pregnancy. It took SUCH a beating from Seb and took the longest time to recover. My stomach needed so long to get it’s elasticity back and I had some stretch marks from him and the skin is CLEARLY not the same lol. I had thoughts of…wow look how rough and how long it took me to get back after baby 2…whats it going to be like after baby 3!! And I’m 2 years older..I was NOT optimistic!
I definitely felt like I got really soft at the end of pregnancy 2 and stopped lifting around 29/30 weeks. Mostly because I just felt so uncomfortable, it was SO HOT (hottest August in history) and I was feeling better running! I think the lack of lifting really hurt me in my recovery postpartum baby 2. I was so soft and WEAK postpartum. I know you can plan to lose a lot of muscle tone naturally through pregnancy, but it was crazy what I lost. So much so that I had a hip injury (torn labrum!…and hot damn that was painful!) due to weak core and glutes that sidelined me for a good 8 weeks. I did not want that to happen again!!
SO…My mindset with pregnancy 3 was to lift as long as I could, even if it was just body weight or lighter weights. I knew it would help me immensely, so ultimately that was my goal . I achieved that my lifting until about 37 weeks 2-3 times per week, and actually stopped running around 33 weeks. Sam was delivered at 38 +5 so I really only took a week off of lifting before I had him.
I have NO DOUBT that one of the reasons why my body has responded the way it has the last 2 weeks is because of the lifting I continued with 💪🏼!
Keep in mind I am a disciplined person and being active is just part of who I AM!! I watch what I eat (but I also splurge, esp when preggo!!) so those are all important factors that helped me!
You can look in my “fitness” section and “nutrition “ section for more details on my workouts and eating habits during pregnancy 3. I gained 34 lbs with baby 3- less than pregnancy 2 and I know I have less body fat this time around to work off.
NO FILTER…just me, some stretch marks, C section scar, some awesome cellulite, and huge nursing boobs. #2WEEKSPOSTPARTUM
Initial Thoughts 2 weeks out
Real talk: My stomach is a bit of a hot mess right now- wrinkly loose skin, stretch marks (mostly the ones from the second pregnancy)…fresh C- section scar. It’s not pretty.
In saying that, I am actually satisfied with where I’m at (I say that with a grain of salt because I’m such a type A and nothing is ever good enough haha) especially because I have photos to look back on from postpartum baby 2.
December 25, 2016- 3.5 months PP with Baby 2 vs Today (2/1/19) 2.5 WEEKS PP with Baby 3!!
And as you can see, I feel like I’m honestly at the same point at 2 weeks postpartum pregnancy 3 as I was at 3 1/2 MONTHS postpartum with pregnancy 2…if not in better shape!!
Progress photos are always good even if you don’t share them with anyone! It’s a good reminder of how far you’ve come and puts things in real perspective.
Staying positive about my body is my main goal as I work through the fourth trimester!
Weight Loss
I currently have lost about 1/2 of the baby weight. So basically I have about 17 or 18 lbs to go. Which is a lot, and I have a long way to go. But I’m just rolling with it and my main priority is healing completely from the C-Section and making sure my milk supply stays strong! I’ve definitely been sweating a TON at night losing a lot of the fluids that I was retaining during pregnancy so every day I notice the scale go down a pound or two. I know it will take time and I’m trying to not even think about it and just love on my baby!
Current Plan: Nutrition/Workouts
Current plan…is NO PLAN! Total recovery from the c section and no setbacks (my incision opened on a superficial level with both boys) and eating allll of the food to try and maintain my supply :) I honestly haven’t even gone for a single walk. I will probably try to start incorporating walking next week when the weather breaks and by that point I’ll be 3 weeks PP.
I’m excited for 6 weeks when I’m cleared to run and lift and share my journey back from baby 3 with y’all! For now…I’m just trying to rest and remind myself that I have tons of time to get leaner and just enjoy my time with the baby for now.
How did you guys feel with subsequent pregnancies? Worse? Better? Was the road back easier or harder?
Have a great day xo
Alex