I admit, I miss my pregnant belly. I miss how firm and round it was. I miss seeing the baby’s internal gymnastics. Sure, it got huge and heavy by the end of the pregnancy, but I still enjoyed it. What I don’t enjoy is what remains of that belly. I am now nearly eight months post-partum with baby number three and I’m frustrated with how I look. It doesn’t help that we had family pictures taken over the weekend. You know how you get accustomed to seeing yourself in the mirror and then you see a picture of yourself and you look…different…than what you think you should? Yeah. That’s where I was a few days ago as I looked over the proofs.
I know my belly, it’s stretch marks and fading linea nigra should all be reminders of a blessed time in my life. Even still, I am ready to see them all go and never return. My body has not bounced back in the same way as it did after my first two pregnancies. Perhaps it’s age or maybe it’s just that after having three enormous bellies, my body has just given up. I have been exercising regularly for a few months now and watching what I eat, but as a nursing mom, I have to make sure I’m consuming enough so my milk supply doesn’t suffer. It’s a delicate balance.
Winter is approaching and I’m too frugal to go out and buy new jeans, so I keep hoping that soon I will be able to squeeze into my old ones. I know that with time and effort I will get there, but some days that doesn’t make that person I saw in those photos any easier to look at.
So tell us, how did you feel about your post-baby body? Did you embrace it? Did you struggle with it? Are you still getting to know it?
