Another Postpartum Update

I shared a postpartum update two months ago- back when I was in the thick of the 4th trimester. So I thought I would share a little bit about where things are at with me, now that Finn is almost 4 months old!

First up, (again) the “baby” weight.

Basically, I’ve lost all of the “baby” weight. Now I just need to lose the McDonald’s, Chick Fil A, holiday food, and Reese trees weight that I’ve managed to hold steady with. Like I said in my last update, I finished my pregnancy at 178 and dropped the first 20-25 pounds really rapidly…..it’s the remaining 20 that are hanging on(I say hanging on….but it isn’t like I’ve done a single thing to help them go away at this point)

I’m definitely the heaviest I have EVER been and am finally ready to start making some headway towards getting rid of it. I’ve so loved this season of rest and am so thankful that I have given myself the space and time to just enjoy my baby and recover for a while before stressing over what my body is doing.

But, now that Finn is giving me some longer stretches here and there between nursing sessions and our days are becoming a *tiny* bit more predictable, I think I’m finally ready to add in some effort to helping my pants fit again(without a muffin top)

My initial plan is to cut out all drinks but water(that includes my lattes for a bit!), cut out my evening junk food snack binges, and add in 15 minutes on the elliptical machine a day to start. Then we’ll see where to go from there!

Breastfeeding is my number, number, number one priority, so I’m not remotely interested in cutting calories or working out super hard- but as of now, I’m literally doing NOTHING for my health, so I’m going to start small and see how slow and gradual changes get me moving in the right direction(as in….hopefully down those last 20 pounds. woof)

During this time, I’ve tried to make sure I do other things to help me still feel like I’m pretty and taking care of myself. I’ve had my hair done recently and got my eyebrows waxed. I paint my nails and bought some new shoes. I don’t know, just some simple things to help me feel like I’m trying even though I’m not back to 100% yet.

As far as other hormonal postpartum stuff goes- I’ve started to lose my hair AND I’ve had some gray hairs show up in my new growth FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER. And I lay them solely at the feet of my three precious children.

Still no period or signs of it, so that’s good and my milk supply seems to be holding strong and steady like it has done two times before. Of course, still no pumping(because I hate it) so I don’t know numbers or fluctuation, but my rapidly chunking up baby seems to indicate things are just fine in that department.

My daily routine is finally settling in a little bit as well. I’ve had to give myself TONS of grace in this area and learn to be a little bit more- shall we say, flexible, in order to get things done. But that’s okay.

Jim and I usually go to bed around 11, Finn eats 2-3 times through the night before I get up and start my day at 7:30 when the girls light turns green and they get up.

After that, we take our mornings slow, we play around the house, sometimes we get chores done. Sometimes not.

Lunch is around noon, Mabel takes a nap at 1. And that’s when Abigail and I do school together.

Jim gets home around 5:30/6 and their bedtime is somewhere between 8-9.

Sprinkle in laundry, breastfeeding every 2-3 hours, potty training Mabel, refilling snacks and feeding the older two, and my day is pretty much packed from start to finish.

It’s tiring, but honestly, I have SO MUCH MORE ENERGY now with a new baby than I did my entire pregnancy with Finn. Seriously, I swear I gave birth to him and instantly was like WOW! I feel human again!

I literally could NOT make it through a day without a huge nap when I was pregnant and I’m pretty sure I haven’t taken a single nap since he has been born. Absolutely night and day difference.

Annnnnd I think that’s probably enough rambling about myself!

The changes our bodies go through is absolutely insane, and the effort it takes to get back to normal is a lot of work, but boy- are these babies more than worth it!