New mom: Coming to terms with baby weight

When I found out we were preggo, I asked Mom how much weight she gained with me. She said 60 pounds. I said there was no way I was going to gain that much. And I was on track for around 40 pounds until the last few weeks hit. (For the record, the doctors were never concerned about my weight gain. They said I was considered a little under weight to begin with and my body was doing what it needed to gear up. I gained a lot in the first trimester.) So, in the last month, I was gaining four to five pounds per week. Yes, people, per week. Water weight. Hence all my swelling and misery.

I stopped keeping track at 60 pounds. I'm sure I went over that amount by the time I was overdue and receiving ridiculous amounts of fluid in delivery. But, I digress.

Ladies out there, it's OK to gain this much. As long as your doctor is comfortable with it, you should be. I spent way too much time worrying about it, obsessing about it. Now, I think your body does what it needs to do to grow that baby. Sure, I ate a heck of a lot of ice cream and sweets, but I needed those for my sanity. And now that Asher is here, I never want sweets anymore (just like the pre-Asher version of me).

Today, I'm happy to report that I'm now 11 pounds away from my pre-baby weight. And all I'm doing is breastfeeding and exhausting myself with this baby. I hope the next 11 come right off too, but I feel like I'm going to have to work at them. And that's OK.

For the record, I don't think I'll ever fit into most of my old clothes. I think my body is just shaped differently now. And that's OK, too. :)