Suzy Q Homemaker

Four pregnancies pretty much wreaked havoc on my body.  With Timothy, I was fairly sure I would fall apart.  My abs were split, I had the stupid gestational diabeetus, and I was miserable.  Once he was born, I had no idea how to go about getting my body back.  Because of my diastasis recti (split abs), doing pilates and yoga were counterproductive.  Imagine trying to sit up from laying down.  Now imagine your abdominal muscles popping up like toast in a toaster.  That’s exactly what it looked like for me and it is not good for healing!  Finding a post-partum exercise routine was not easy.  I had to bind myself in pilates in order to keep my abs flat and that was really uncomfortable.

The wonderful Helene Byrne from BeFit-Mom sent me the Bounce Back Fast! Post Natal Core Conditioning DVD to try. Read more…

My post is up at The Shape of a Mother.

Read “My Body is Wrecked”

One of the hardest things for me to do during pregnancy and breastfeeding is to eat right.  In a perfect world, I would cook every meal.  I would use fresh, homegrown produce and organic ingredients.  I would eat a balanced diet throughout the day, totally eliminate artificial ingredients, HFCS, and still have time to shave my legs, mop the kitchen, and fold five loads of laundry every day.

Oh man.  I just made myself laugh out loud. Read more…

I think that part of the reason I always get the baby blues is my perception of my postpartum body.  Although I lost a bunch of pounds of baby, water, and other fluids during childbirth, I still looked seven months pregnant.  Sucking in my abs made me look six.  Either way, I had to wear yoga pants and maternity shirts to accomodate the flabby pouch of skin that hung from my waistline.

At almost three months postpartum, I can only fit into one pair of normal jeans comfortably.  I usually sport my favorite maternity capris or a skirt with an elastic waistband.  Almost every day, I look longingly into my closet at the giant pile of jeans that fit so well a year ago.  And I open up a cabinet of t-shirts that showed off some healthy shoulders.

Lately, I feel doughy and weak.

But I’m getting stronger.

I started going back to yoga when I was six weeks postpartum.  That first class was killer, and I felt so, so depressed afterward.  Great way to feel after a yoga class, I know!  But before I got pregnant, I was so strong.  I could hover like a champ in plank and my balance postures were awesome.  During my first class postpartum, I had to modify every plank pose to my knees, and my wrists hurt so bad that I winced during every hands and knees position.  My warrior poses felt awkward and I never fully settled into my final meditation.

How does one cope with postpartum body issues?

It’s certainly an adjustment.  I also discovered that I have a pretty severe diastasis recti to nurse.  As much as I want to work my abs to reclaim my waistline, I can’t.  My yoga teacher knows someone who has separated her abs, too, and is going to talk to her about what poses to modify.  I already know that I shouldn’t do any advanced boat positions or over-stretch my abs in wheel.  So I’m concentrating on strengthening my shoulders and legs these days.  During last night’s class, I was able to do every plank without dropping to my knees, and my wrists aren’t tender anymore.  I still have trouble settling during final meditation, but I attribute that in part to my anxiety.

I do look forward to fitting into my pre-pregnancy clothes, but I need to remember that just because they fit, the body underneath needs strength more than it needs to be thin.