Operation Baby Weight Commences

Since I got pregnant in the middle of my HEALTHY LIVING JOURNEY launch, I decided that I would focus on going back to work looking BETTER than I did when I left. This might not be that hard as I was pretty round and pregnant when I left. Nonetheless, it's a goal I'm rather excited about . . . so of course, now I deal with the dilemma of how to knock out that baby weight - and maybe some pre-baby weight too.

Luckily, I didn't gain too much weight while pregnant - I'm within the norm though I certainly am limited to a few pairs of pants . . .

About 4 years, ago, I was talking to one of my sorhority sisters who had just had a baby. She told me, "I don't understand how women don't lose their baby weight quickly. You don't have any time to eat!" Of course, she was the mother of 3 little boys, so I suspected that her ability to bounce back from pregnancy might be easier than a new mother like say, me . . .

However, I'm a week into this whole thing and I totally get what she was saying. Perhaps this motherhood thing is actually GOOD for my diet! I mean yeah you gain all this weight while you're pregnant, but there are several factors that work in your favor. Here is my list so far:

1. Breastfeeding - burns a WHOLE LOTTA calories! Plus, I still can't go hard on the wine.

2. A Demanding Baby - you can't really grab an eclair at 10pm or make some french fries when your baby needs to be changed, fed and held every couple hours. And considering how heavy the damn car seat is, I only go out if I absolutely must. So long quick runs to Bakesale Betty's on a Wednesday afternoon.

3. Irregular Sleeping Patterns - because my baby tends to be most active between the hours of 2-7am, my days/nights are totally messed up. I forget that it's breakfast, lunch or dinner time and I'm strictly eating for sustenance rather than out of routine. That's when I remember to eat.

There are some things that work against your diet dreams though . . . that lack of sleep I hear is bad for your metabolism. And I know it's better to eat a healthy diet than a skimpy one consisting of a slice of wheat bread and some crackers . . . so I'm not necessarily promoting the "New Mother Diet" per se . . . well, so far I'm not. If it works of course, it works . . .

Back on the Highway

So, I'm happy to say that I've ended one journey - and I'm back on track with my original one.

Last Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 10:34 am, we welcomed my first baby boy into the world. So far, it's going well, considering how tired and worn out I am. Dare I say, I might be getting used to it though?? He's a pretty cool baby, not too fussy and so far he's getting good reports. I have never been as scared and nervous in my life (including times when I was about to perform or interview or speak in front of a large audience) as I am with my baby. Whoever made up that saying "sleep when your baby sleeps" didn't take into account how paranoid first time mothers are . . . because we ARE. But after 6 nights of little or no sleep, I think I might actually try to rest when the baby rests - which between 2-6am seems to be very little. Let's see how it goes tonight . . .

Meanwhile, this means that in the midst of trying to raise a kid in this crazy world, I have to go back to trying to being healthy!! 2009 was a CRAZY year. I mean, I spent the majority of it gestating a human being. And now it looks like 2010 will be a very challenging year too. Well, hell the rest of my life is going to be challenging. So as soon as my stitches heal and my perineum is good to go, I'm back on my journey. Stay tuned . . . I predict that Operation Eliminate the Baby Weight will be probably even more of a struggle than my regular struggles with Healthy Living . . .