Kate's first challenge this week was this:
1. Body – do you love or loathe your body? Celebrate the fact you are a mum by posting here http://cafebebe.co.uk/2012/02/real-mummy-tummies/
Now, after two children it is definitely fair to say that my body is very different from before I sarted (though I didn't have much time to appreciate just how lovely my body back then was, as I 'fell' pregnant for the first time when I was the fair age of 18) but not in the way you might expect. Cafe Bebe is celebrating real mummies & their real tummies over on her blog & I totally get behind her on that. Mummies go through a hell of a lot, more than anyone could imagine & when celebrities flash their perfect post-baby bodies in our face it is, as she says, bloody infuriating. It isn't normal & it puts totally unrealistic pressure on top of all the other pressures that women all ready suffer in our vain society.
Having said that, here is me 6 weeks after giving birth to my second baby, about to go for my first run since I found out I was pregnant for the second time.
Now before you spit at the screen & slam your laptop shut, please read a little further as I explain...
When I found out I was pregnant I was a healthy 10st 8lb (which is the higher side of a decent BMI for 5ft 7in) & I enjoyed running & salads, as well as cake & takeaways! Now, 11 weeks after having the wee one, I am 9st. I don't have a nanny, personal trainer (though technically my OH is a qualified fitness person thing but I'll be damned if I can get him to give me any training for free) & I certainly don't have a chef - though I would not say no! - but what I did have after the birth of my wee girl was a lot of blood loss. Thankfully, the staff at the hospital knew that this could happen as, when I had my first baby, I bled so much after the cesarean that they offered me a blood transfusion (I said no & spent the first year of her life weighing between 7st & a half and 8 stone, due mostly to anaemia etc. but also to stress & anxiety & an unrealistic view of myself. This was not a good time in my life).
What I'm getting at is that, yes I was lucky enough to have a small bump in both pregnancies & to weigh less than when I fell pregnant in both pregnancies & I appreciate that I can fit back into my skinny jeans, however I am not healthy. I've been running twice since having the baby & I can tell you that I was dying. My baby is a very hungry one & I haven't been able to keep up with feeding her, whereas I think that if I had a little more on me & a bigger appetite myself (I sometimes struggle with eating properly as I have PND, but this is something I feel is getting better) then I would have been able to do more for her.
It's so important to be healthy, not just for ourselves, but for our babies too, & it's even more important to remember that healthy doesn't necessarily mean thin. Healthy is something that is on the inside & appearances can certainly be deceptive.
It's also worth mentioning, as this is about real Mummies' bodies, that in this picture I am wearing two bras. It's now a necessity if I go running & if I wasn't then you wouldn't be able to see half of my tummy. I would show you a picture, but I think there might be a law against this!
1. Body – do you love or loathe your body? Celebrate the fact you are a mum by posting here http://cafebebe.co.uk/2012/02/real-mummy-tummies/
Now, after two children it is definitely fair to say that my body is very different from before I sarted (though I didn't have much time to appreciate just how lovely my body back then was, as I 'fell' pregnant for the first time when I was the fair age of 18) but not in the way you might expect. Cafe Bebe is celebrating real mummies & their real tummies over on her blog & I totally get behind her on that. Mummies go through a hell of a lot, more than anyone could imagine & when celebrities flash their perfect post-baby bodies in our face it is, as she says, bloody infuriating. It isn't normal & it puts totally unrealistic pressure on top of all the other pressures that women all ready suffer in our vain society.
Having said that, here is me 6 weeks after giving birth to my second baby, about to go for my first run since I found out I was pregnant for the second time.
Now before you spit at the screen & slam your laptop shut, please read a little further as I explain...
When I found out I was pregnant I was a healthy 10st 8lb (which is the higher side of a decent BMI for 5ft 7in) & I enjoyed running & salads, as well as cake & takeaways! Now, 11 weeks after having the wee one, I am 9st. I don't have a nanny, personal trainer (though technically my OH is a qualified fitness person thing but I'll be damned if I can get him to give me any training for free) & I certainly don't have a chef - though I would not say no! - but what I did have after the birth of my wee girl was a lot of blood loss. Thankfully, the staff at the hospital knew that this could happen as, when I had my first baby, I bled so much after the cesarean that they offered me a blood transfusion (I said no & spent the first year of her life weighing between 7st & a half and 8 stone, due mostly to anaemia etc. but also to stress & anxiety & an unrealistic view of myself. This was not a good time in my life).
What I'm getting at is that, yes I was lucky enough to have a small bump in both pregnancies & to weigh less than when I fell pregnant in both pregnancies & I appreciate that I can fit back into my skinny jeans, however I am not healthy. I've been running twice since having the baby & I can tell you that I was dying. My baby is a very hungry one & I haven't been able to keep up with feeding her, whereas I think that if I had a little more on me & a bigger appetite myself (I sometimes struggle with eating properly as I have PND, but this is something I feel is getting better) then I would have been able to do more for her.
It's so important to be healthy, not just for ourselves, but for our babies too, & it's even more important to remember that healthy doesn't necessarily mean thin. Healthy is something that is on the inside & appearances can certainly be deceptive.
It's also worth mentioning, as this is about real Mummies' bodies, that in this picture I am wearing two bras. It's now a necessity if I go running & if I wasn't then you wouldn't be able to see half of my tummy. I would show you a picture, but I think there might be a law against this!
Well done you for posting and thank you for sharing my view on celebrities & their ridiculousness! Nice to meet you as well!
ReplyDeleteKarin @ Cafe Bebe
There is certainly no more apt a word for celebrities than 'ridiculous'! Nice to meet you too & thanks for the inspiration & being a proper proper mummy!
DeleteI had a simular post baby weightloss i also lost alot of blood and then fell really ill with pnemonia when little E was 12 weeks.Im now back where i was pre baby and now want to lose weight heathily too. Lovely post celebrating being a mum xx
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you are better - thank you for reading & here's wishing you good health in the future! :)
DeletePoints well made as usual. You are now in the radar of Britmums who I am sure will be knocking on your door like they did mine one day soon.
ReplyDeleteAll I will say on the matter is that I am no Kate On Thin Ice (wonder-blogger & Queen of the Groovy Mums!)
DeleteWow - I always wondered why I lost three stone in about 5 weeks after having my first baby and then weighed less than I ever had done when she was under one. Blood transfusion on standby at my c-section too. Hmmm.
ReplyDeleteScary stuff, I think it really takes it out of you to re-fill your veins with all that blood. I was never too great at taking all the iron tablets either!
DeleteReally honest post!
ReplyDeleteI am much smaller than I was post baby, and not necessarily in a good way. Thin does definitely not mean healthy necessarily - I struggle with anaemia and energy levels too (not good with an energetic toddler!).
There is sooooo much pressure on us not only to be great mums, but great looking mums too. Pressure? The last thing we need - it's so harmful to new mums.
It's such a struggle & you're so right, the pressure is not at all what we need. It makes me very sad!
DeleteI too lost alot of blood and was very scrawny for a year or so after my 2nd baby (I had 14 blood transfusions following his birth so was pretty ill), I always put my wieghtloss down to stress and PND, never thought it could of been the blood transfusions. I think more people should think like you about being healthy, its not just about being slim x
ReplyDeleteThat sounds horrendous & I hope you've managed to recover. I too have had the PND this time & had a lot of stress & anxiety the first time so I am sure it is partly due to this also but I don't think being physically ill would help either.
Delete