The Fallacy of Postpartum (and your 3rd child)

I'm going to set the record straight.  The reason postpartum women stay in their pajamas or yoga pants or sweatsuits all day has nothing to do with being tired and haggard.  It has everything to do with the fact that we don't have anything to wear.  Why would we want to go back to our "maternity" clothes that we have been so excited to ditch?  I've spent the last several days going through my clothes trying to find anything that will fit that will hide the post-pregnancy imperfections.  That belly that was so cute just 7 days ago looks frightening now and the last thing I need to hear when I go out is, when is your baby due?

Even though I just had my 3rd child I still went into the hospital thinking I would come out magically skinny again or close to it.  I am not naive enough to assume I'd be back into my smaller sizes and sporting a bikini by Memorial Day, but I kind of thought I would be able to slide back into my "big girl" clothes to at least be presentable. 

And even though I just labored and delivered a 3rd child doesn't mean I wasn't planning to get "right back into it" when it comes to working out.  Just as it is easy to forget the parts of being pregnant that are unpleasant, it is easy to forget how hard it is to recover from delivering an 8lb 13oz baby.  I remember being pregnant with Pickle and telling Bubba that "Mom can do that (get on the floor, give you a piggy-back ride, have you sit on my lap, etc.) as soon as the baby is born.  And oh how I have once again forgotten that it is not that simple.

The point of this rambling is a chance to remind myself that it has just been 5 days since I did something pretty miraculous and it is okay to take it easy for a bit to let myself recover.  (And it was just as hard the 3rd time around as it was the first two, by the way!)  Giving birth is an amazing (albeit not an attractive) process and it took nine months to get my body ready for the experience; I might want to give myself at least 9 days (or weeks) to let it return to its original capabilities.  I know I will once again walk as a normal human when my hips finally return to their previous position and one day I will be able to get off the couch and walk across the room with out people wondering what is wrong with me.  And those cute summer clothes I am longing to wear, well it will still be 100 degrees here in September!

Love,
C