Baring it All... Post Pregnancy

I am about to bare all (well not literally) on the battles of post pregnancy weight loss. It’s a touchy subject for most women, yet alone mothers who have had their bodies stretched to the limit over 9 months. Weight gain during pregnancy is essential to the well being of your baby, and while all the pregnancy books assure you – you don’t NEED to eat for two! – you end up doing that anyway. Those late night chocolate cravings and the endless appetite for almost anything doesn’t help.

But after the miracle of life has taken place, mom is left feeling rather insecure about her body image. You just don’t look the same anymore! The extra kilos, the new stretch marks and in some cases a nasty c-section scar are all constant reminders that YOU ARE NOT THE SAME.

The challenge is remembering that you are not going to get results over night, which can be very frustrating and demotivating. Even harder is that you are now taking care of your baby and hardly find the time to change out of your PJ’s yet alone take the 5km a day run you promised yourself during pregnancy.

We are not all built like HEIDI KLUM, who miraculously did a Victoria Secret shoot 6 weeks after her 3^rd child!! Seriously Heidi… you make us all feel like under achievers.

Respect to Kourtney Kardashian for acknowledging the photoshopped cover of OK was untruthful. See picture below. She went on to say that “One of those weeklies got it wrong again…they didn’t have an exclusive with me. And I gained 40 pounds while pregs, not 26…But thanks!” She was quoted in Women’s Wear Daily as saying, “They doctored and Photoshopped my body to make it look like I have already lost all the weight, which I have not.”

I am most inspired by Jennifer Hudson’s post pregnancy story. The star became motivated to lose weight after carrying her son, and has gone on to slim down to her smallest ever size! Now that’s a true Hollywood story worth believing.

So here is my story… I really have no idea how much weight I gained during pregnancy. Once I hit 10kgs, I burst into tears and swore not to look at the scale (around 6.5 months).  The fact that I couldn’t see over my tummy during Dr. appointments helped as well. All I know is that after birth I was 20kgs heavier than before (CRIES ALOUD). 

Somehow between not sleeping and stressing about my newborn, I managed to loose 8kgs by my 6 week appointment. This was all due to self-inflicted craziness, and absolutely no effort from my side. I had another 12kgs to get rid of, and with a suggestion from a friend tried the GM diet. I lasted a whole 2 days!! But managed to lose another 3kgs somehow. After my failure to commit to any diet or exercise regime my weight plateaued for a few weeks and I still had 9kgs to lose.

At around 10weeks post birth I was feeling demotivated and insecure about getting rid of those 9kgs which had attached its self to my midsection exclusively. I still couldn’t fit into my post pregnancy jeans, and was still in the ones with the elastic bands on the top (very unsexy). 

When I went back to work around 12 weeks, the tempo of my life increased. I was working 2 full time jobs, professional and full time mom. I was literally eating only oats during the day at work, and maybe a small snack for dinner at night (not advisable). Although this was tremendously unhealthy I managed to lose 7kgs within 4 weeks, and was close to pre-pregnancy weight. I finally fitted back into my ‘skinny’ jeans! The last 2kgs have come off sometime in between then and writing this blog – so I am back to pre-weight. Goal achieved at 26 weeks after birth.

Seeing that number on the scale is great, however I still don’t look and feel the same again. I may fit into the jeans but I have troubles with my mid-section. I have lost more weight in my legs and arms to compensate for the extra centimetres in the waist.

Now the new challenge is to 1. Get rid of the Belly Jelly and 2. I want to lose another 11kgs to reach my ideal weight goal. The pursuit for happy body image is on-going.

So, I really have no miracle diet or any healthy advice to anyone looking to lose the extra pregnancy kilos – I attribute my modest weight loss to stress and stupidity on my side. I am however going to try and set the record straight by attempting to lose the next 11kgs with a healthy exercise and eating programme. My hope is that by publishing this on my blog, I will be motivated by the pressure to get results. 

The new goal is to lose 11kgs by 20^th January. Wish me luck… will keep you posted with my progress on this blog. And to all the other mommies reading this, know that you are not alone - we all struggle to get it back and it takes time.   

Sugar Free Popsicles for Kids

Popsicles are a great hot-weather treat, but the ones from the grocery store have a lot of sugar, artificial flavors and artificial colors. It’s just as easy to make your own from whatever seasonal fresh fruit you have on hand, and you control the sugar content. The whole family loves these.

I’ve found that pretty much any sorbet or granite recipe also makes good Popsicle. However, you don’t really need a recipe if you follow this method.

 

Fresh Fruit Popsicle

Time to make: 10 minutes + time to freeze

Yields: 8 Popsicle

* 900gs fresh fruit, such as berries, melon or peaches

* 1/3 cup sugar, or to taste

* 1 tsp. lemon or lime juice

* pinch of salt

* water to thin (up to 1 cup)

* Popsicle molds

In a blender or food processor, puree the fruit with the lemon or lime juice, salt and enough water to thin the mixture to pouring consistency, between ¼ and 1 cup. More watery fruits, like watermelon, will require less water, naturally. Mix in the sugar to taste. Riper, sweeter fruit will probably need less sugar. Pour into Popsicle molds and freeze.

Fake it Till you Make It

You find out the life changing news, you are pregnant, you will be having a baby. In that moment the battle between expected happiness and complete fear is overwhelming. One minute your thinking about cute nursery décor and then the next you’re wondering… OMG I know nothing about raising children and for that matter do I even know how to keep one alive? 

You start doubting yourself and are convinced you must be the only woman alive who has absolutely no maternal instincts. You suddenly start remembering that time you had to hold your friends kid, and how it screamed at you! Or how you get really awkward around your cousin’s kid because you’re not sure if he has a lazy eye or if he is just eyeballing you. You think back to the time you begged your parents for a dog, only to be bored with it a few months later. And it that moment, you are 100% convinced you known NOTHING. The only thing you KNOW is that you don’t KNOW a single thing about kids.

But that’s okay because you are going to fix all that. Within a few months you are going to transform yourself, you will be known as the baby whisperer. Soon your friends kid is going to be laughing and giggling in your arms, and your cousins kid is going to be begging to sleep over at the ‘cool’ aunts home.

So there you find yourself in the parenting aisle of Exclusive Books paging through thousands of books, looking for the answers to all your pending anxieties. By the time you get to the counter you have a stack of books including What to Expect When Your Expecting, How to Raise Happy Children, Emotional Intelligent Parenting, as well as every parenting magazine insight. The only reason why you haven’t got The Idiots Guide to Parenting is because it was sold out.

Once you have purchased these pearls of wisdom, you send hours studying the content – as if you were writing an exam. Trying to remember the most important details. You become obsessed with your pursuit of becoming the ultimate parent. You may even find yourself randomly using the bathroom towel to practise your swaddling techniques, or doing research on which brand of diapers has the best repertoire.

All of a sudden other parents become your benchmark, you scrutinise every product they consume. What pram is best, which diaper bag did they get, sometimes even looking into other women’s baby shower bins at the baby city to see if your missing anything.

You then do the responsible thing which is to take Antenatal classes, where you and your partner will learn everything you need to know about birth and early parenting. You spend the first few weeks at class wondering when all this giving birth stuff will be done, and can we just move onto the part about how to look after the baby.

After 9 months of preparation and research, you are feeling confident again and it’s time to get the show on the road. So after all the fireworks and drama of birthing is complete your little human being is finally in your arms and you are ready to put all your theory into practise.

Baby cries… you check if she is hungry (because that’s what the books said). You decide she is, so you begin to breastfeed (as the book showed you) but that’s an epic fail. Baby continues to cry, you try again… baby cries louder. Nurse comes to help, baby eats. 10 minutes later baby cries… okay, she can’t be hungry… check nappy, nappy is fine… baby is still crying. You suddenly need to remind yourself not to panic because the books said babies cry and that’s normal – but then you realise your baby is the only one who is crying and all the other babies are sleeping happily. Okay, she needs to sleep… so you try swaddle the child (you know you are the pro at this after all your practising) but the baby wriggles straight out of it and is screaming louder than ever now… Nurse comes in to assist and baby stops crying. It’s at around this time that you begin to cry and once again you are overwhelmed with the feeling of complete incompetence.

The wrestling match between mother and child has begun, and for weeks to come Mom will be faced with a set of new challenges everyday. It’s very much like being on a reality show such as survivor or amazing race. Mom is only given a certain amount of clues, and must choose wisely in order to continue to the next level. Each day mom masters some techniques but fails dismally at others. She must use her strategic skills in order to stay on the island.

Raising children is nothing like the book. Ever heard someone say “they preferred the book” when referring to a movie? Well parenting is much like that… the book version is much nicer. There is structure, mom is always the hero and children are seen and not heard. However the reality of childcare is highly unpredictable, mom is seldom a hero but more likely the wounded soldier and the children are often the understated antagonists.

Okay, so yes… I am being very dramatic. What I am getting at is that while there is value in gaining knowledge on parenting before baby arrives, don’t underestimate the importance of on-the-job-training. The sense of accomplishment you feel as mom when you finally start to get things right is the best feeling in the world. Mother’s instinct is not a myth, it’s real and comes highly recommended. And while my ambitions of becoming a baby whisperer  failed, in the end all I need was the beautiful relationship I now share with my dear daughter – which I give credit to my life experience and not to the books collecting desk on the shelf.           

Summer Trend: Suspenders for Boys

A hot summer fashion trend for boys are suspenders. This look is super cute for the young ones, but even dads can take a tip from these trendy tots. The look can also be adapted for girls (see below) 

 

Keeping it Casual

 

Suspenders for Toddlers

  

Suspenders for Babies 

Girls can rock them too...

Stranger Danger

 

I remember parents telling me that a simple trip to the shopping center would never be the same again. I made the mistake of assuming that this was because of the million new items you now have to pack, and unpack, pack and then unpack (you know the routine).  At the beginning when traveling with baby is still a novelty, Mom makes sure she has absolutely EVERYTHING.  You can spot a new mom from a mile away… the over-packed diaper bag, the 3 containers of formula, towels, blankets etc. She resembles a Kilimanjaro porter who carries a weeks-worth of survival gear for the hikers.  I mean obviously you need absolutely everything for a ‘just-in-case’ moment.

A more seasoned mom has learnt how to travel light, only carrying the bare essentials. She may find herself wondering “Do we really need to take that diaper?” or “We don’t really need an extra change of clothes, we can just turn these ones inside out”.  These moms can be easily spotted too, they are usually carrying their babies on their hip, and have mastered the one-hand for everything technique.  Meanwhile the new mom has a complicated travel system, Yes, a travel system for baby.

So here is me imagining that the ‘it will- never be the same again’ warning was because of the added logistics around having a child. Well I was wrong. While you do need to add an extra 10mins to your travel time, what parents have not taken into account is the element of what I am now calling Stranger Danger. A trip to the store would not be complete without every single grandmother stopping you to have a look and chat about your baby.

So a tip from me new parents, and parents-to-be… Add at least an extra 20mins when stepping out with your little one. You will be strategically cornered by these old ladies, and you will need to listen to all their family stories and advise they are so willing to share. And to all you reading this blog… please call your grannies and let them know you love them, shame man! They are wondering around shops and hanging out at the Mug ‘n Bean just to get a small dose of some baby-love, even old ladies can get broody.