The Skinny on Losing Baby Weight

I gained so much weight during my pregnancy that I refused to get on the scale during my ninth month. My doctors said that that was fine, so in truth I have no idea of how much weight I gained.

I was able to rationalize the weight gain by telling myself that I was eating for two. The fact that neither of us were linebackers was a fact I omitted in my relentless effort to self-soothe.

The day after I gave birth I was still huge! It looked like the baby hadn't even come out. I was absolutely fascinated by that and pointed it out to everyone. About five weeks later it wasn't so fascinating. Although I wasn't as big as I was at nine months, I was still wearing maternity clothes. Something had to be done.

The problem was that I was breastfeeding and still had a lot of cravings. And I say cravings because I really wanted food that I didn't used to like. "Everyone" says that breastfeeding makes you lose the baby weight. Not true. At least not for me or anyone else I know.

I started taking the baby out for a walk in the stroller for about an hour each day. The fresh air was good for both of us and Lord knew I could use the exercise! After I stopped breastfeeding I noticed that I wasn't as hungry as I was while I was nursing, and I didn't have those insatiable cravings anymore.

Mentally, I just kind of let go of the whole idea of trying to lose the baby weight. I had also heard that the last five pounds were the hardest, and you know what?, being a new mom was hard enough without adding that kind of pressure.

Then on my son's first birthday I went through a box of pre-pregnancy pants. I saw a pair of slacks that had always fit me well and tried them on. Lo and behold, they still fit!

So my advice is: let it go, give it time, and you'll be back in your old clothes by the baby's first birthday!