In my first trimester there were a couple scents I was using that made my stomach churn. One was Aveda Rosemary Mint lotion (it was the mint part). And the other was my Meyers basil dish soap and countertop spray. To this day both of those smells make me feel a little nauseous. Pre-pregnancy, they were two of my favorite smells.
I'm also shedding hair like it's my job. While pregnant, one day it hit me that I wasn't shedding a normal amount of hair. In fact, hardly any at all. Well, I'm making up for it now. Seriously it practically comes out in clumps. I've heard other women talk about this after having a baby, so I know it's a thing...but still...why?
Certain women gave me the impression that breastfeeding was like a weight loss miracle. Comments like "I'm the thinnest I've ever been in my life from breastfeeding." This totally wasn't true for me. Sure, I know it helps to shrink your uterus back to normal size, but to claim it's the only element to getting your pre-baby body back? Nah. Thankfully my sister Molly warned me that a decent amount of women can't fully shed their pregnancy pounds until they quit breastfeeding.
My skin was so smooth during pregnancy, especially my face. Now I feel like my face needs exfoliated constantly and seems to have aged. Which, I know aging is a reality, but seriously, I'm only 25. (This could be in my head, Devin says so.)
One thing I can be really thankful for is that I didn't get stretch marks. And that weird line down my mid-section is basically gone.
I'm finally starting to feel like my body is my own again. As easy as my pregnancy was, I think I'll be glad for a however-many year break from growing/birthing/nursing a baby. Our bodies really are amazing though - to grow and feed little humans - so cool. But, it certainly comes with some quirks (that's putting it nicely).
On that note, happy weekend.
8 comments:
I lost SO much hair about 4-6 months after Abel was born. Then, a couple months later, it all started growing back in. Now I have all of these like 1-2 in. long new hairs all over my head (mostly around my hairline) that are coming in. They stick up like crazy. Ha! Hormones do weird stuff to our bodies...
And I definitely didn't have the "breastfeeding is a guaranteed weight-loss plan" experience, either. Oh well :)
Pregnancy is quite an amazing thing! Too bad women can't share some of the body changes with our counterparts! Oh well, I think you look great!
hehe, quirks is a nice word for it. :)
I remember when I was 20, my mom informed me matter of factly that she had spent 18 of the last 21 years pregnant or nursing! oh my word...i realized that part (or most) of the sometimes unspoken sacrifice of motherhood happens AFTER baby is born, even though pregnancy is such a tangible reminder of carrying a baby. And you seem pretty accepting of this, which is great, because it was a hard pill for me to swallow : ) at first....now i'm seeing it more as a privilege...
...and I'm one of those people who doesn't lose weight til after nursing, so i'm with molly on that. i pretty much just stayed off the scale & enjoyed eating when i felt hungry.
Enjoy your little guy! M
fun to hear your thoughts now that it's behind you. it is such a miracle! glad you are feeling back to normal -- you look great!
Yea, I can identify with pretty much all of those things. Weird about the smells, huh? There is still a Caldrea soap that I don't like from pregnancy. Shedding hair... yes annoying. I'm just starting to lose hair again. I hate finding hairs everywhere and then little ones growing back. Better than having no hair though... if that's a positive way of looking at it?! And I don't lose all my weight until after breast-feeding either. I just know that's how it is and try to be ok with it and mentally tell myself it's for the health of the baby and keeps my milk more nutritious. Although I miss my pencil skirts and I'm eagerly looking forward to wearing them again. :)
And yea for no stretch marks! even though people don't see my stomach that often, I was thankful for that too. Vain? Oh well :)
Fun to read these comments. It's been a while, but I do remember the smell thing too. My hair stayed normal, oddly enough. Definitely didn't nurse away any weight, as I said. If it weren't for Mom telling me I "had to get some new clothes!", I would have been wearing maternity ones for a lot longer than I did after Marlee was born.
I've found that in the Middle East people will excuse you being overweight even if your last child is two years old. The "babyweight" excuse is good for a loooong time here. Good...or bad? :)
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