Life after the stork has dropped off your little one

Wow, why hello there blog, it sure has been a while! February to be exact. Well, quite a lot has happened since then.  I had a healthy baby boy on April 3, 2015, Cullen Bond Dehestani, 6 lbs 11 ounces; and man oh man were people right….your time sure does melt away (along with your heart every time you look at your baby, well except maybe when he’s screeching like a pterodactyl). So needless to say I haven’t had a chance to get back to blog writing for over 6 months but it’s been on my to do list and here we go!

I worked out right up to the day before going into the hospital on April 1 to start the delivery process (I decided to opt for a one week elective early induction offered up to me by my doctor). I met my good friend April for a warm vinyasa flow class on March 31^st.  This selfie was right at the end of the class, I knew it would be my last workout before Cullen would make his debut so I made it count and we had a nice flow followed by a trip to Starbucks.

At this point (and for a good 4 weeks prior) my feet and hands had swelled to epic proportions.  What the?! I thought swelling only happened when pregnant over the steamy summer months, not winter. Um yeah…not so much.  

I no longer could fit into my sneakers so begrudgingly went to Marshalls and found a pair of New Balance’s size 10.5 that I could squeeze my swollen tootsies into (sockless and very lightly laced mind you). Yoga was my go to form of exercise in the last month of pregghood as wearing sneakers to workout was not very pleasant. I used yoga blocks under my palms often as it helped alleviate some of the discomfort from the swelling in my hands.  I worked up until the day I went into the hospital, taking my last client that morning and then proceeding to Be Styled for a blow out, they even stamped my Be Styled card with a few extra blowout punches (hey, I’m glad some people like to throw us preggos a bone or two now and then).  I painted my nails, packed up my bag, and had cake, pictured below (leftover from a “baby shower” party my husband’s coworkers threw for him that afternoon, so no I didn’t eat all of that) and pizza for my last meal before heading on into Brigham and Women’s for our 7pm check in (here is the last selfie before getting the labor and delivery process started)!

Now I am 5 and a half months postpartum and have lost the bulk of the 44lbs I gained, still working on the last 3, the stomach is the last part to return to its’ former self and slowly I see more ab definition as the months go by, I mean come on, when your waist size increases 15 inches it takes a while for that to get back to normal.  Here I am at 5 months postpartum.  It’s a game of slow and steady.  

I cannot express how important it is to continue to exercise and stay active through your pregnancy.  It won’t be perfect and there will be days when you feel super tired and sluggish.  You will not be able to run as fast, and perhaps have to eventually stop running altogether as your pregnancy progresses, you will worry that you might rip your tight holding on for dear life leggings while in a wide legged straddle stance in yoga class, you won’t be able to do certain exercises, but just keep on keeping on.  Move your body at a pace that feels comfortable and listen to YOUR body, not what others around you at the gym or in yoga are doing.  If you start to feel over exerted, take a rest, drink water.

Even though you cannot see your abs as you progress along in your pregnancy, thinking they have been swallowed up by the huge beach ball that is your baby belly, they are still there and need to be kept strong, along with the quads, glutes, hamstrings, triceps, biceps, and every other muscle group in your body. Once all the fluid dissipates after your pregnancy, your muscles will begin to emerge once again and you will be so thankful you still have your muscle tone along with the strength you maintained throughout the pregnancy. After having Cullen I was itching to get back to being active asap and was starting to get that icky not feeling like yourself feeling you get when not working out for a few days (my feet became more and more swollen after delivery which I had no idea can happen to some women)! This is a photo of my feet 5 days after giving birth.

Once that gradually subsided, with the help of a diuretic, within about 10 days I could walk more easily (and fit actual shoes onto my feet). I started back with a yoga class 2 ½ weeks postpartum and getting back to running at 3 weeks with a very slow 3.5 miles. I asked my doctor of course first and advise you to always check in with your doctor to make sure it’s ok for you to start back slowly.

Now pregnancy and the weeks that followed it seem like (sort of) a distant memory and I am fully back into my routine.   Because I now have a child and time begins to be not so plentiful, there are days I can’t get to that yoga class or class at the gym I’d like to take, but instead I’ll go for a run or walk with him in the jogging stroller or do a short circuit in my living room. There are days when I have no time to get a workout in. But you fit it in when you can and something is better than nothing. My arms are also looking more muscular due to carrying him and all of his baby gear, so that’s an added bonus. You can do what you can do, make the effort to figure out ways to move your body and eat healthy 80% of the time and you will get back to where you were pre-baby. It’s a slow process that I was very inpatient with in the beginning, but trust that your body is an incredible thing that was able to produce and bring a HUMAN BEING into this world, if you can do that then you can certainly get back to being just as fit and strong (and maybe even more so) as you were pre-baby.  You’ve got this!