It took me 6 months to lose the 24 pounds i gained after having Emily.
It took me 9 months to lose the 24 pounds i gained after having Joshie.
It took me, well, we’re still trying to fight the post-Isabella baby weight. and she’s 2.
I have friends who were back into their pre-pregnancy clothing within a week of having their babies. a week after i had my babies, i still looked pregnant. I have friends who were back at the gym within weeks of having their babies. Gym? what’s a gym? I have friends who were dieting and watching every single thing that went into their post-partum mouths. not me. i was drinking milkshakes and still eating like a pregnant person for at least 6 weeks after giving birth.
but don’t think this little gym-less, heifer-y eating, chubby stage was a happy one for me.
oh no, friends. It was horrible. I felt gigantic. and like a failure…because my clothes were sitting on the shelf, mocking me, as i put on my yoga pants and baggy t-shirt.
society puts so much pressure on women to lose the weight. Celebrity moms are setting the bar just too high. normal women can’t keep up. We see pictures like
Denise Richards, two months postpartum:
Jaime Pressley, two months postpartum:
Brooke Burke, two months postpartum:
i didn’t even get out in front of the camera until Isabella was 4 months old…
and even then, Isabella and i were sporting matching chubby cheeks and double chins.
but if i took a step back and stopped looking at the stupid celebs, i would be able to admit that i looked pretty damn good four months after having my third baby in 5 years.
damn good.
but i’d never be able to see that. because i see the Denises and Heidi Klums and Kelly Ripas. And there were so many more important things to worry about during those first few months…sleep issues. nursing issues. sibling issues. weight should be the last thing on our minds…
…but because we see the scrutinizing pictures in the magazines…the ones that praise the celebs who lose quickly and the ones that put down the ones who don’t lose as quickly.
and somehow, that’s the first thing on our minds.
Ali, I totally know how you feel. I did lose all the weight in between 1 and 2 (i.e. I got preggo again the 2nd time at exactly the same weight as with #1) but I was waaay overweight to begin with. Then I lost weight after #2, looked not bad (for the old me) and the GAINED – like – 25 lbs!!!! Only when #2 was 3 did I start to lose the weight again. It’s a journey…a loooooonnnnnggg journey!
And as others have rightly said, the celebs HAVE to lose the weight or they will lose their jobs, and ruin their reputations, and be subject to ridicule in the media. PLUS, they are all probably anorexic to some degree to begin with, so it’s just a natural that the first thing they’d be obsessed with is losing weight. AND of course they have staff…
Jamie Pressley looks insane, but why oh why does she always look cheap?
1. You look great in the photo.
2. Isabella has the cutest fat cheeks ever, I want to just eat her up!
3. We are real people who do things for ourselves, no staff “helping”, If I had a personal chef that could make a cucumber taste like a steak, I would be skinny too.
Myself I struggle with my weight period. When I was pregnant with Rito I was SO SICK I lost over 20 pounds, and actually only gained 1 pound (one) total. So when I walked out of the hospital with a baby and 20 pounds in the hole…. then I breastfed. And let me tell you the medications I was on for breastfeeding (breast reduction surgery didn’t go quite right) made me GAIN 45 POUNDS. So now Rito is 15 months old and I am back to what I was before I was pregnant, but I would like to be the size I was when I was 3 months pregnant, I haden’t been that skinny in years.
What I want to know is how do they get such HARD bodies after baby?? I am 4.5 years postpartum on my 2nd and back to my normal weight but everything is squishy. All of the elastic is gone in my abdominal skin…how do they avoid THAT? Ugh. It is impossible to live up to.
Btw, you look great in that photo! And what a squishy little chub Bella was! Totally edible.
I’m so depressed about my postpreggo body, I have to say. I’m ecstatically happy otherwise…. It sucks that this is what’s keeping me from totally enjoying this time (this and the sleepless nights — which drive one to eat more than sleepful night people…)
I can so relate to this.
I gained a ton of weight with Matt (80+ lbs) and I didn’t actually lose all the weight. But, it was so discouraging to see others losing really quickly when I took 2 years.
I vow not to do that again.
But, in all fairness, I don’t have a chef or a trainer. Or, for that matter a nanny or a night nurse. Losing weight takes time and effort and as a new mom it’s hard to put that effort in when you’re trying to nurse and survive and all of that.
Plus, I’m pretty sure that as nice as my ob is she will not be willing to do a tummy tuck when I deliver (maybe I should ask).
But also, maybe I’m just justifying here, as much as I like to look my best, I’m also well aware that I won’t lose my job if I come back 20 lbs heavier and celebrities don’t have that luxury.
Anyway …
That picture of you is great.
Those celebs probably spent so much time in the gym that they didn’t even see their babies for the first four months. With an unlimited amount of funds and access to trainers, nutritionists etc and a part-part-part-part time workload (or no workload at all because they’re so wealthy) I suppose they have no excuses or nothing better to do with their time!
Oh getting rid of that baby weight – a sensitive topic. I started 10 lbs heavier with my second and I’m still struggling with the last 15 lbs now, 2.5 years later. It’s really hard to look at celebrities and not compare, but I’m always quick to remind myself that I don’t have a nanny or a full-time trainer that can help me get out and active. I’m just trying to make myself feel better for finally making the time to get to the gym now. Next is trying to curb my sweet tooth – I know that’s the real problem for me.
PS – you look great in that picture!
ok .. first off, those celebs don’t have ‘normal’ lives. The have people to help, round the clock, so that they actually have the energy to be concerned about something other that sleeping/eating and taking care of baby. Wouldn’t it be nice, to be able to sleep during the time we are cooking, doing laundry, cleaning our house, etc etc.. they don’t have to do that, so they can rest more, and then focus on working out etc. Yes … you look damn good .. and Bella what a chubby little cutie in that picture!! And YES, I am one of the first to comment on BOTH your blogs this am, because it’s friday .. and I DON’T WANNA WORK….