For the most part, I enjoyed being pregnant. Sure, there was annoying heartburn, aching ribs, and stretch marks (BOO!) but for most of the nine months I carried Avelyn I felt all glow-y and full of the miracle of life-y. I packed on about 40 pounds and hit a final weight of 190. I knew that was kind of big, but I still thought I looked pretty good for a pregnant woman.
After giving birth I dropped 20 of the pounds I had gained and I remember feeling pretty good about myself. Oh, relativity is a deceptive lover. Compared to the huge belly I sported while pregnant, I felt svelte and tiny.
Which I was, quite painfully and obviously, NOT.
I was about three weeks post-partum in this photograph. I was sleep deprived, breastfeeding was going terribly, but at least I looked like a hot momma, or so I thought.
I was looking through some old pictures on my computer a while ago with a friend and we stumbled across this gem. She exclaimed, “That’s a post-partum picture?”Yeah.
Can we just talk about the boobs for a second? I think they deserve a whole-hearted, “Oh my sweet mustard!” Those are some serious jugs. Too bad my baby rejected them and forced me to pump milk for her for 7 months. (No, I’m not bitter.) If I were her, I would have been a little scared to latch onto those big, fleshy anvils too.
My weight loss was pretty slow. People who say breastfeeding helps you lose weight? They lie.
Once I hit my pre-pregnancy weight I decided to take it a step further and cut out my daily doses of ice cream and ranch dressing and I started eating more healthily. I felt good. Like a kicky little sailor.
 (With teeny, weeny boobs.)
Keeping the weight off is still a daily struggle for me. Why the urge to sit down with half a dozen cupcakes is ever-present, I’ll never know.
If someone had told me that I would be thinner after having a baby, I would have laughed in their face. Then offered them one of the cupcakes on my lap.
I sincerely don’t want to come across as a braggart. Those who know me in real life know that weight control has been a huge part of my history and I have a bruised heart from all the physical and emotional pain I’ve endured while trying to find a healthy weight for me. I’ll never not have to think about it.
I hope to be pregnant again someday but I think I know how to have a much healthier pregnancy next time around. A lot of moms with more than one child have echoed the same. They said that they were a lot healthier with their subsequent pregnancies because they had a better understanding of what “eating for two” really means and they were so active chasing after their other children so they couldn’t just lounge on the sofa all day while noshing on Pringles.
Not that I would ever do that.
33 Comments
Amanda,,,, you should be so proud of how far you have come. I have always struggled with my body image and still struggle. I wish I could one day have the self control you have. I long to be able to go into a regular clothing store and be able to purchase stylish jeans or a nice top…. but so far I have only been able to go into the plus size shops. I recently tried weight watchers, and it was hard. So I commend your dedication and perserverence. You truly are an inspiration.
You should be so proud of yourself. You look incredible and we know one thing’s for sure, Avelyn and any future kiddos can’t not be adorable with the genes they have going for them.
You totally have the right to feel proud of yourself. You’ve done what most women can’t. Conceive, carry and deliver a beautiful healthy daughter. Then, above all that, lose all the baby weight plus some more for good measure. Way to go!
Oh I hope to one day be lower than my pre-pregnancy weight. That would be a dream. You look great now! Good job!
You were gorgeous while pregnant and are even more so today. You should be so proud of how far you’ve come and the healthy way in which you have gotten there.
I hope to experience a wee bit more moderation and self control in my pregnancies and hopefully that will help with the dreaded post partum weight loss.
On that note I think I need a cupcake.
Amanda, you looked great, every step of the way! You have gone through many stages and you have learned from all of them. Thats the important part, I think.
How did you do that? You look amazing and truly inspire me for when I one day become pregnant for the first time. By the way, that is one of the most beautiful pregnancy photos I have seen.
Amanda, you look so awesome! Good for you! I seem to be stuck in the “I’ll start tomorrow” mindset!
That is so funny that you did that post, I was JUST looking through birth and postpartum picks today and laughing out loud (with no one around) to myself about how hefty self. And I thought I felt and looked alright, it’s scary! I don’t know if I have the guts to post ’em , maybe. YIkes!
Good post and you DO look great!
I actually like my face better in my post-partum (25 pound to lose) pictures. The rest of me, not so much!
You know seeing those photos one after the other is quite incredible! You really do look great now and the best thing, you feel great. I packed on the pounds whilst pregnant but sadly started out overweight so when I lost all my baby weight within three weeks of giving birth (!?!) I was still fat!! Its been two years now since I got pregnant and I weigh less than I did then but more importantly for me right now, I feel great and I am enjoying going to the gym, eating right and taking care of myself! Your pics are just just further inspiration, you are a hot momma!
Brag away – you deserve it! I’m still struggling to lose the pregnancy weight and my daughter is twenty months.
Please commence bragging at any time, because seriously, that is some amazing stuff.
Hey I was also just looking through pregnancy and post partum pictures (for Hudson’s “first year” video). I am so vain that I didn’t let anyone take any pictures of me right after having Hudson. Since I had a C-section I was really swollen from the IV. I looked awful. But I regret sooooo much that I don’t have the classic mama holding baby pose in the hospital. I’m so dumb.
Anyway…I LOVE that preggo picture of you. You look stunning.
p.s. i have been thinking about those $59 cupcakes ever since Oprah. do you think they’re really that heavenly? or do you think it’s kinda that whole “emperor’s new clothes” phenomenon??? how can 9 cupcakes cost that much, unless they’re made by Oompa Loopas?!?
Oh my gosh, you seriously look amazing! You’re not coming across as a braggart at all; I think anyone would be proud of what you’ve accomplished, and deservedly so. I hope to be a hot momma lilke you one day too :)
First of all, you looked amazing pregnant and you look amazing now. You should be proud of yourself for what you’ve accomplished!
I won’t comment on your breasts because I might just get kicky-booted in the teeth, which would be … unpleasant. But I really like your comment about learning what ‘eating for two’ really means. As I heard it put once, “You’re eating for two…but the other one isn’t named Bubba!”
i’m nursing my newborn right now but your boobs in that pic scare even mine!
Teeny weeny boobs rock! I too didn’t lose any weight until I quit nursing and weighed less than pre pregnant for a short time after I was done nursing. You have worked hard to get to where you are and your next pregnancy, even if you gain 40lbs, you have the tools and will to lose it again!
I accidentally made my sister cry after she had her baby because I told her that her boobs were freakishly big and that they may scare the baby. Since that day, she has called me tiny titties as payback.
You KNOW how proud I am of you. :)
xoxoxo
For the record, at ONLY three weeks post-baby, I think you DO look hot.
Weigh is a issue for so many. What happened to all of us?
Breastfeeding may help you lose weight, but sadly, pumping does not. Ditto the birth control benefits that you get from nursing. My period came back 6 months earlier when I was pumping than when I was breastfeeding. Shocking, and sad.
Congratulations on finding that healthy weight. I so feel you. It is a struggle, and I hate it when people see you after you’ve done it and say things like it must come naturally. I wish!
Your pregnancy photo is gorgeous.
Just for the record…I seriously do not remember you looking like that post-partum. Your boobs were huge! You have done an amazing job with your weight and eating habbits! I’m so proud. I also really like your sailor photo!
You look terrific, Amanda! Also, I agree… gorgeous prego shot!
You look fantastic!!
“Oh my sweet mustard” will keep me smiling for a while, by the way… I haven’t heard that one before :)
Your post rings a bell. I have three children and gained between 60-80 pounds with each one. The last time I looked at a scale while carrying my final lad (who was a whopping 10.8, by the way), I was 214. I didn’t look after that!
Through Weight Watchers and really only occasional exercise (because of an injury, not preference) I’ve been able to lose all that weight three times over. And I’m about 7 pounds shy of my pre-pregnancy weight, which will be a very good place to be again.
But it takes time! Nursing for 18 months actually helped me stay fat and it’s only since the lad has been weaned that the bloating, etc. have gone away.
Congrats; you look great!
i’m still trying to lose my baby weight…and Isabella is 2…
you look fantastic!
You look amazing!
You are beautiful. In every photograph in this post. But I totally get what you’re saying. Except the pregnancy part, but the rest of it, I’m right there with you. I miss my teeny weeny boobs. I can’t really remember them, but I know I miss them.
You look great! I could totally relate to your post. I waited until my second one was a year before I seriously began to loose weight although I didn’t gain as much with his pregnancy and I did with my first.
You look great! HOpe I can lose this baby weight again second time around!
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