It’s been 18 months since our son was born. Like someone once told me, the days feel long but the months fly by fast. I cannot believe our son is already 18 months. I still remember the night we brought him home from the hospital as if it were yesterday, how he struggled to lift his head and move his tiny squirmy body. Now, he’s an active rambunctious boy, running and climbing everywhere! We are definitely at the beginning of the toddler stage and I’m sure there will be many more lessons along the way. And I’m here for the ride.
To celebrate this milestone, I decided to reflect on how my body has changed since giving birth. These past 18 months have been a long journey, a period of my life where I have experienced the most growth. My self-image and the way I feel about my body has changed drastically since becoming pregnant. Though my body feels more jiggly and looser than ever before, I have grown a much deeper appreciation for my body after what it has done. It’s odd to say that I’ve become more confident and comfortable in my own skin after my pregnancy. While my body will likely never be the way it was before, I have set a few small goals to build back strength and be mindful of how I treat my body.
Every mom is different. Maybe you have a goal to be back to your pre-pregnancy weight. Maybe you’ve set a goal to get back into shape again through your usual preferred workout. Or maybe you’re more like me where I’ve learned to accept my body as it is and allow it to guide my healing and transformation through this motherhood journey.
There have been a few physical changes that I have taken note of. For those mamas-to-be who are curious what your postpartum body might be like after birth, I’m sharing my postpartum experience and recovery in hopes that it will help provide you with an understanding of how your body might change as well.
Say goodbye to bladder control.
After giving birth, my pelvic floor muscles became so weak that holding any small amount of pee feels nearly impossible. This was the most surprising body change for me. I’ve already had two accidents (so embarrassing!) while walking back home and I couldn’t hold it in time before getting to the toilet. Before giving birth, I heard about how important it was to strengthen our pelvis but I didn’t know how weak my bladder control would be even 18 months after giving birth! From this experience, I’ve learned just how important it is to keep our pelvis healthy and strong (hello kegel exercises!). I recommend consulting with a pelvic floor therapist who can help examine your pelvic floor health and provide personalized exercises according to your needs.
My hips are forever wider.
During pregnancy, my hips widened a couple inches which makes complete sense to make room for the baby to come through. After birth, my hips stayed the same size and did not shrink back to it’s normal pre-pregnancy width. My pre-pregnancy jackets were still tight around my hips and I could not zip them up anymore around my pelvis and hip area. So I eventually accepted this new change and donated those tight-fitting jackets. I’m totally okay with the bigger hips and have embraced it as my new body. I now wear a size large in my jackets vs a medium and slightly bigger jeans.
Postpartum hair loss is real.
I didn’t learn about postpartum hair loss until my postpartum recovery when I started to notice how much hair I was shedding. At first, I thought it was due to stress and anxiety during the newborn period but as I started to see more new moms post their hair loss experience, I realize this was all normal and part of the recovery period. I was concerned with the amount of hair loss I had and it continued on for about 6 months postpartum. Thankfully, my hair is finally growing back now, but it’s wild how much hair we lose during those first few months!
My joints are much more fragile.
Since I gave birth, my knuckles and joints on my hands and my knees were much more vulnerable to pain. I would wake up with stiff fingers that felt so painful to bend. I thought maybe it was just part of the postpartum recovery process but when I asked my OB about it, they didn’t think it was related. As it continued on for a few more months, I begin to worry that I had osteoporosis after hearing my mom was diagnosed for it. So, I visited my primary care doctor and she didn’t think it was osteoporosis either. After doing some research on my own, I did learn that some women may have joint pain due to a lack of calcium when they are nursing. This made complete sense to me so I started taking calcium supplements and it helped immensely! I still take it ‘til this day because I’m nursing and although my joint pain comes back once a while, it’s not nearly as bad as it was before.
Making time for working out feels impossible.
When my son was born, I initially had set a goal to get back to my normal body weight once he turned 1 but now that he’s 18 months, I realize how unrealistic that was. I’m sure it’s possible for other moms, but I haven’t been able to put as much time or energy to working out as much as I did before. And frankly, it hasn’t been my priority. I’m still learning to give myself grace and find the time when I can to fit in an outdoor walk or run for my mental wellbeing. Since I’m still nursing, I’ve allowed myself to eat as much as my body needs while being mindful of the type of nutrition I’m feeding my body. Recently, my body has been craving movement so I’ve been carving out 15 minutes per day to stretch or do a quick HIIT workout at home.
For those mamas who have gone through postpartum recovery, what body changes have you noticed? Were there any surprises? I would love to hear your postpartum experience!
