Why I don't want my pre-baby body

If you type "Body after Baby" into Google you get 484,000,000 results. The second article that popped up had a tag line about looking "like your pre-baby self in no time!" That's silly. It's not easy, especially the first time around, to get used to the changes that happen to your body after you have the baby. They tell you that you'll still look pregnant, you hear "it takes 9 months to put it on, it'll take about that to get it off" and yet I'm sure I can't be the only one that walked away from the hospital a little pissed about not being closer to "normal".

If there is one thing that I have learned about parenting it is that you should never try to settle into a normal, because things are always changing. You are always adapting to new milestones, new tantrums, new foods that they love/hate and so on. So, instead of getting worked up about trying to look like I did a year ago, I'd like to know that I'm doing everything I can to look and feel the best I can after having grown and birthed two children.

Getting back into shape and feeling strong and comfortable in my body can't be accomplished the same way it did before Ryker or after Ryker, because now there is Ryker and Cora. They have both left their marks on my body and now he tries to steal my water bottle and headphones while she sets the timetable for the next time I need to breastfeed her. I get to the gym and I use that as my motivation. I know that I have a certain amount of time that I can be gone, so I better be killing it at the gym while I'm there. I want my kids to see that Mom has goals and she's going to work hard to meet them. There will be times when they come with me so that I can work with/around them and others where it's just not going to happen. As long as I don't give up, I feel like I'm teaching them something.  

I'll be six weeks postpartum on Thursday. I still have nearly 20 pounds to lose, which is saying something considering that I gained 30. I'm not that woman that drops majority of the weight upon giving birth, I hold on to almost all of it for the first few months (which is super frustrating!). So, I'm trying to focus on getting my 5k time back to sub-25 minutes and trying to make sure I'm lifting as heavy as I can. I also have to remember to eat and to rest, because all this work will be for nothing if a) my body is too tired and hungry to heal and prepare itself and b) I turn into a giant grouch and am no fun for my family.

Make your family a priority, but make yourself one too. You wouldn't expect your two year old to potty train in one day, so don't expect your body to bounce back that quickly either. Be forgiving. Of course, this is all easier said than done, but I'm hoping this reminder to myself may help someone else go a little easier on themselves when trying to settle into being a new mom of two little ones!