As I’m sitting here in the glider in Baby D’s nursery (which is quickly becoming my favorite new work spot), I am getting more and more eager to meet this precious little one that is making my belly bounce and roll.
Though meeting our sweet baby clearly tops the list on ‘things I’m excited about’, there are a few other items that have made the list, too.
- Enjoying the taste of Hubb’s homebrew
- Finally indulging in fro-yo again
- Being able to lay on my tummy
- GETTING MY BODY BACK
I don’t mean I’m excited to get my body back so I can look like a Victoria’s Secret model again… again? HA! 😉 but I’m pumped up about challenging myself with workouts, being able to wear my clothes again, not getting stared at when out in public and feeling strong and energetic.
This has lead me to spend some time thinking about my plan for my post-baby bod. It’s difficult to plan when I don’t fully know what life will be like once Baby D is here, but I am going to do my best to get back to feeling like me again ASAP.
Here’s the tentative plan:
When I get Home from the Hospital
- Survive.
- Nourish and nuzzle Baby D.
- Spend hours doting and soaking up everything I know I’ll want to remember forever.
- Let my body heal. I know I’ll be sore and learning about all the new ‘functions’ of having a mommy body.
- Take pictures of my body and record stats for my ‘before’. Will I be as ballsy as the inspirational Tina and take pictures in my bathing suit? Probably not. But I’ll choose an outfit that will still reveal my progress.
The First Month
- Stick to my healthy eating habits. I’m so proud I’ve stayed pretty on track with healthy eating throughout pregnancy because there won’t be any shock of ‘oh no, now I have to eat healthy again’. I’ll still need to eat plenty to keep up my milk supply, and with the help of prepared freezer meals, a helpful husband, wonderful grandparents and friends, I think staying on track with eating shouldn’t be too challenging.
- Start moving. Hopefully fall will begin to creep in and I can enjoy some beautiful walks around the neighborhood with Baby D and Hubbs.
- Continue to track progress via pictures, weight and inches.
The Second Month
- Get back in the kitchen. It probably won’t be every night, but I enjoy cooking and hope to begin to get back in the swing of things with preparing some healthy meals.
- As soon as I’m ‘cleared’ by the doctor, I want to start incorporating strength training and cardio into my routine. Cardio may consist of long speed walks at this point. For strength, I’m looking into ordering the Tracy Anderson Method DVD for post-baby. Does anyone know anything about it?!
- Snap some more pictures to share with you and hopefully starting to see some progress by the end of month 2.
The Third Month
- Hopefully by this point I’m adjusting to my new normal. Meal planning will be fun to explore at this stage, and I’m sure I’ll have some new tips to share on staying healthy at meal time when you don’t have a lot of time to prepare! I don’t plan on counting calories, but if progress isn’t where I want it to be at this point, I might do it for a few weeks to see what kind of difference it makes.
- I’d like to keep up with the strength DVDs at home because my gym membership will still be on a freeze. I’m freezing it for 3 months because I don’t think I’ll be comfortable bringing Baby D there before then… and who knows, maybe even longer. For cardio, I plan on restarting the Couch to 5k Program and want to sign up for a 5k to run in early 2012. I loved it last time and want to get back into wogging ASAP.
- Of course, pictures and numbers to share with you. I hope you will enjoy seeing my progress because I really think sharing it with you will help hold me accountable. Plus, any encouraging feedback you can offer will certainly be music to my ears!
So, that’s about as far as I’ve gotten. I feel (perhaps naively so?) that this ‘plan’ is slow-paced enough for me not to be overwhelmed, but structured enough to get me back on my feet.
What do you think?
Is it too aggressive?
Not challenging enough?
Any other tips to offer?
Becky @ Fit Chick on the Fly says
Sounds like you got a pretty awesome plan mapped out! You look amazing 9 months prego so I am sure it won’t take much to get you back to normal! Eat as many ice cream snickers bars as you can until you pop out Baby D!
Tiff @ Love, Sweat, and Beers says
I have no tips, but I can wish you luck! I’m sure you’ll fall right back into everything in time and without too much effort. You still eat sooooo healthfully, and you’ve kept great habits through the entire pregnancy (or so it seems to me!)
Cait @ Beyond Bananas says
I can’t give you any tips from experiene – but it sounds great to me! You are giving yourself ample time to heal and will take time to cherish all the moments with Baby D. I guess I could tell you not to get frustrated if things don’t work out exactly as you hoped with would. You’ll get to whatever goal you want to get to in time.. because you are strong, confident and motivated!
Kim says
Hi! Just found your blog a few days ago! Your plan looks great. You sound much more organized than I was. I found that I couldn’t get back into my pre-baby pants for almost a year. The weight came off pretty quickly (I only had 6 weeks of leave and then I was back to teaching second grade- that will do it!). I lost all the weight, but my belly just wasn’t the same for a long time!
Brittany says
6 weeks then back to teaching? You’re a rockstar 🙂
Kat @ Big Apple Little Kitchen says
I love your strategy! It’s so healthy (mentally & physically!) that you have a realistic three month plan. You’re going to feel great!
Kristin @ eat healthy. be happy. live well says
I think it sounds great! Very well thought out. I definitely think the strength training is going to be important until you feel comfortable doing strenuous cardio. Good luck and I can’t wait to hear about your progress!
And I can’t wait to *meet* Baby D! I love your plan for the first month: “Nourish and nuzzle Baby D”– SO cute!
Sarah @ The Smart Kitchen says
I obviously have no tips as far as this is concerned, but it looks to me like you are a step ahead of 98% of most moms (unless they are a celebrity and have to get back to their ‘fighting weight’ for their job). I’m guessing that your outlook and realization that it’s not going to happen every night is the first step to fabulous!
Sarah @ The Smart Kitchen says
Did I really just say “first step to fabulous”?
I don’t know who that was, but she’s gone now.
Brittany says
It’s just another wonderful Sarah saying that makes Sarah ‘fabulous’! 🙂
Allie {A teaspoon of LIFE} says
I love the plan. I wonder if you ever really adjust to your new normal after going from no kids to kids, but I can’t wait to find out through you haha.
I’ve had handfuls of prego friends, but none of them were ever active or health-conscious before baby, nad it took some of them years to figure things out and be healthy or fit. So, hopefully you have a leg up 🙂
People only stare because you’re beautiful, I promise. I envy the big mamas in the store. One day…..
Holly @ The Runny Egg says
Looks like you have a good plan Brittany!
I will say I’ve heard some not so good things about Tracey Anderson — Fitnessista did a review of her a few weeks ago I think and you should take a look at some of the comments!
Brittany says
Oh, interesting- I’ll take a look- thanks!
RhodeyGirl says
I think you’ve dropped!!!!
Brittany says
I think so, too! Breathing is easy again- hooray!
erin says
Great plan!
As I mom I can tell you it is all very doable. You will have more time than you think or rather than some people try to make you believe. I never understood people who said “oh you are luck if you get to shower.” The first 4 weeks or so are tiring, but after that they sleep more at night and it gets a lot easier. Babies sleep a lot and while in pregnancy you dream of holding them all day long, in reality you’re glad for a break and to be able to place them in the swing for a bit.
I bought the Tracy Anderson Method post-pregnancy dvd and I don’t love it. It is mostly all abs which is fine and needed post baby, but I find an hour on abs to be too hard and kind of a waste of time. I like the 30 day shred, no more trouble zones and more full body workouts more. I found it was easy to fit in a 30 min shred workout while my son was napping. Working out while he napped also forced me not to put off my workout because i knew he would wake up soon and I had a limited amount of time.
Also after being home with baby all day long I use to look forward to my husband returning from work and hitting the gym for a little bit. It was a nice break and good to have “me time” while daddy got one on one bonding time with baby.
Good luck! I just found out I am pregnant again and I hope I follow your example of how to stay active, eat well and have a fit pregnancy.
Brittany says
First of all, congrats on pregnancy #2!!
And thank you so much for your feedback! It’s so refreshing to hear you say you had more time than you thought, because all I ever hear about is how I’ll never eat/sleep/shower/fill in the blank again. It kind of drives me nuts.
I’ve gotten some feedback that Tracey’s program isn’t all that wonderful, and since I already own the shred, I might go that route instead. Thank you!
Kristen @ The Concrete Runner says
I think your plans sound great! I think you are definitely being conservative, which is super important when coming back from pregnancy! I feel the same way about taking pictures to post on my blog post-pregnancy. I’m pretty modest in the first place, so I’m not sure I would really want those posted – but I know we will all understand the progress you are making!
I went back and read your post about soft-serve ice cream. Since my blog is basically about soft-serve ice cream, I was interested in your opinion on it. My uncle is an OBGYN and I asked him about homemade frozen custard (made with raw eggs) – he said he was pretty sure your gastric system would take care of anything like that. I also worked at a frozen custard stand for years and I can assure you that those machines are cleaned properly – although I’m sure not all of them are.
I have freaked out about A LOT of stuff during pregnancy, but I find it’s not worth the worry. I follow the “rules” about many things (soft cheeses, sprouts, etc.) but I feel like the stress I am causing myself about certain things is worse than the chance of me actually contracting listeria…
Brittany says
I know, I think the no soft serve is my one ‘crazy’ thing for this pregnancy. I know a billion pregnant ladies who eat it and are just fine. Since I’m so close to the end, I’m just going to keep holding off.
I’m so jealous that your uncle is an OBGYN- how cool to have a fantastic resource like that in the family 🙂
Sara Z says
You are such a role model! I am 10 weeks pregnant with my first and I just love how grounded and real your blog is. I can’t wait to see baby D and continue to follow your journey!
Brittany says
I’m so excited for you- congrats!! Enjoy the journey 🙂 & thank you for reading!
Kelli H (Made in Sonoma) says
I think you have a good plan!
Sounds realistic to me but then again, I’m not a mom…
Graze With Me says
Sounds like a good plan! I’ll be following along in your footsteps so I just may be using you for inspiration. I don’t have a gym membership but I do have a treadmill, elliptical, Bowflex and a ton of weights/workout videos and exercise bands so I’ve got all the tools – just have to use them. 🙂 Good luck!
P.S. You can eat fro-yo! I’d just stay away from the self serve places that can get icky. But I think ice cream is better anyway!
Karen@ Are we there yet? says
I love that you shared your plan with us! It sounds very well thought out and balanced. I am due Oct. 21st and I look forward to reading all about your journey back to post-baby bod. I too have heard great things about the 30-day shred and plan to order a copy before baby so I have no excuses.
Best of luck and thanks for sharing!
Maria says
You’ve been so healthy throughout this pregnancy, that I’m sure you will bounce back in no time!
I’m curious to see if you will be counting calories to help keep them in balance and make sure you are getting enough for nursing. I’m currently counting and I really love it. I’ve been at it 16 days straight, have not had one mood swing, no intense cravings and I’m steadily dropping a few pounds.
Lauren says
Not that I have any authority on the subject, but I think your plans sound pretty realistic and I think it’s great that you’re going to consult your doctor before adding cardio to the mix. Can’t wait to follow the journey!
John J. says
Great plan, Ms. Organizer! I’m impressed that you are looking forward to what you want and developing a plan to reach that goal. You continue to be inspirational to others as you live “ahealthysliceoflife”! I like it when people put “out there” what they are going to do – and then do it – in part motivated by walking (“wogging”) their talk. I did that when I chose to run a marathon. Told everybody – then did it! Proud of you, my always beautiful “Daddy’sdaughter”!
Melissa G says
Our little son is almost 3 months old. I did not eat nor exercise during pregnancy, booo! I never thought I’d say that, I’m always running, walking, hiking. I have no idea what was wrong with me. Maybe it’s the second child downslide, who knows…I’m feeling great though. I’ve been running a mile or two in the morning, sometimes with the babies and my wonderful BOB stroller(LOVE IT!) & sometimes I get up extra early and go alone. If I can do it, you can too!! So just wanted to pass on this encouragement. I know we all need it, especially after having a baby. Good luck!!!
Melissa G says
I meant to say “I did not eat good”,(second sentence) haha. Mommy brain!!
christina says
Good for you for already having a plan!! 🙂 You’re an inspiration, really!
Tina says
Sounds like a great plan! I think the biggest thing is to make an effort and get started on progress sooner rather than later. And take things step by step do you can always have room to adjust to keep progress going. You are hitting the nail on the head. And I will say that it was harder adjusting after baby one so just remember that things do really get easier about that three month mark. I know you will do great though!! And thanks for the love…although I laugh at being called ballsy.
Kelsey @ Snacking Squirrel says
you are definitely going to accomplish your goals, especially since you are giving yourself lots of healing time and plenty of nourishing patience- so balanced and well thought out!
xoxo <3
Kimberly @ Healthy Strides says
Your plan sounds very reasonable! My lil guy is 6 weeks and getting out for a walk can still be a challenge because of his feeding schedule. I just do what I can, when I can. My only tip is to not get frustrated when your bundle of joy doesn’t cooperate and wants to be held when you want to cook or workout.
Jen says
Sounds great, Brittany. I think your plans sound very realistic. I cannot wait to follow along with your progress!
I’m so nervous that I’m going to get back into exercise too soon and end up hurting myself. I guess that’s why I’m due in the winter- my least favorite running season 🙂
Michelle says
I think your plan sounds great!
I have a 10 month old and exercised and ran all the way till the day I had her so your body will bounce back. I now run with my little girl in the BOB stroller about 50-60 miles a week. Her and I average about 9-10 miles a day 🙂 You just have to make time and we all know how exercising and eating right makes us feel better which makes us a lot more fun to be around 🙂
I was so worried I would never be able to get my body back but I think my body looks better now than it did before I had my little girl.
As long as you can kind of go with the flow for the first three months you will be fine. Those first three months are kind of a blur to my and the hubby and especially the first month. And make sure to take the time to take a shower, get dressed in some nice clothes that always helped me just feel good all around.
I was a gym rat before I had Emerson and now I rarely go because I either ride my spin bike at home or we go running and I do strength training at home. I haven’t had the nerve to take her to the gym daycare yet. 🙂
Sorry for the long post! But I just want you to know that you will rock this Mom job 🙂 Can’t wait to see you in your post pregnancy pics!
Erin @ The Grass Skirt says
I think it is great to have a plan! I am sure that you’ll bounce right back after the baby comes, especially since you ate healthfully throughout and before your pregnancy. 🙂
Lindsay @ The Lean Green Bean says
love the plan! seems very reasonable and attainable. good luck! we’ll all be here for you!
Corey @ the runner's cookie says
I like the sound of this plan! I think it’s important to lay out your expectations and priorities when you first get home with baby D – obviously exercise is not going to take priority for a while. It’s so exciting to be thinking about your life post-pregnancy 🙂 I bet you are bursting with excitement!!
Jen @familyfoodfitnessandfun says
Hi! I’m new to your blog and I love it!
As a mom that had 3 babies back, to back, to back 😉 I have a lot of experience with getting back into workout shape after baby. I think you have some great ideas there! The only thing I wouldn’t recommend, is taking pics the first month. Give it a couple of months. Trust me on this…taking pics early will only get you down. It takes a while for that belly to tighten up a bit. I was in great shape during my last pregnancy, and I couldn’t start really working on my body until the second month. Even then, it was hard.
Best of luck with your pregnancy and upcoming birth. I look forward to reading more 🙂
Cameron says
I’ve been following your blog for awhile and love it! I love this planned approach and it reminds me to not be so anxious and think I can just bounce back into things right away. You have made me reconsider my plans for post baby body and life because of this post!
Lauren says
Sounds like a great plan, Brittany! You have had such a great attitude about this whole thing and I can’t wait to keep up with your progress! Thinking about you over these next few weeks!
Shayla @ The Good Life says
I don’t know from experience, but based on what I’ve read and from other bloggers I think this plan sounds great! And I love that you’re sharing your post baby body journey with us all. I like to learn all I can from other people’s experiences so that I’m better prepared for when its my turn! This is so inspiring and I’m excited to follow you along! 🙂
Katie @ Legally Fit says
This sounds like a great plan and I hope to follow something similar! I’m also going to get a belly bandit- it sounds hokey but a lot of my friends swear by it! I can’t wait for the return of frozen yogurt too 🙂 I had it a few times before I realized there was a listeria issue.
Michelle {lively kitchen} says
All I would offer is to extend grace to yourself. So much will depend on the temperament of your baby. If you have a mellow one (like my second), you may find that you’re back in the kitchen and feeling normal really early on. If you get a high-maintainence little one (like my first), you’ll be a little more baby-occupied.
The weight will come off. You will feel like yourself again. You will sleep again. It just may take a little while. Wishing you a mellow baby!
Dawn says
I think it is a good plan but do not be hard on yourself if you do not make every goal on schedule. Enjoy your time with the baby. Every baby and mother is different. You need to go with what works for you and your baby. So happy for you!
Marty says
Hi Brittany!! I think you have a great handle on what you’ll need to get back in shape. Just try different workouts until you find the one or ones that fit your day with BabyD! Of course, you know I love Stroller Strides, ahem, but there are other great programs out there, too.
Best of luck in the home stretch and happy thoughts for a smooth birth!!
~Marty
Mandy says
I am new to your blog and a little late on this posting, but i just wanted to say you will be amazed at how your body acclimates to change. I too worried about how my body would be post baby. I maintained healthy eating and physical activity while pregnant and my body bounced back pretty well. Just remember it took ten months to gain it, so don’t set expectations too high. Good luck with the Baby D and enjoy!
Diane says
Sounds like a good plan. I haven’t read all of the comments, but wanted to let you know I used Tracy Anderson’s post pregnancy dvd and while it is good, it is not something I would attempt within the first couple of months post-pregnancy. There are a lot of planks and pikes, which your abs won’t be ready for for a while. I got bored of it after a while. Someone else recommended Jillian’s 30 day shred, which I love. She incorporates planks and pikes as well, which are so important for getting your stomach back. I also love her newer Ripped in 30 even more than 30 day shred. After baby 2, I used Jillian Michael’s almost exclusively for a while and got great results (used 30 day shred, No More Trouble Zones and Banish Fat Boost Metabolism). But once again, I would recommend that for a little later after you have built up your strength a little more. It will be harder to do jumping exercises for a while (harder for some people more than others) so work on your kegels a lot to get ready for jogging and jumping.
I started with lots of walking with the baby in the stroller and slowing working on my abs at my own pace. Start slowly with body weight exercises and see what your body can do, and just go from there. With my first baby, I wasn’t ready for exercise for 6 weeks. With my second baby, I was itching to exercise again right away, so I started earlier (just lots of walking, bodyweight exercise). Just listen to your body and don’t worry if you can do certain movements yet. Certain muscles (like your transverse abs) will need some time to get strong again.