Baby Weight

After my daughter was born I lost 20 pounds in the first week. She was only 8 pounds of it, so I really felt like the rest of the weight was going to be easy. And then I plateaued. For a while. It was frustrating but I kept reading these blog posts that basically all said, it took you 9 months to put on the weight, it will take you 9 months to get back to where you were. I tried to have patience with myself. But it's not easy when the people around you can be, well, rude morons. I remember I went to Home Depot to get a copy of a key made and I had my 3 1/2 month old daughter with me. The guy at the key machine asked me a few questions about her and then said, "Boy you're really gonna have your hands full with her and the one on the way."... He thought I was pregnant. I guess I understand how if he didn't think about the math- he could see that my weight was all in front and that I am other wise a petite person with small legs and arms so it's more obvious. I wanted a sink hole to open up under my feet. I just smiled and said, "Oh we are just working on the first one still." He looked completely unfazed. I remember being angry at how unfazed he was. You just told a woman that she looks visibly pregnant and she wasn't, how do you not apologize or at least have the courtesy to blush?!

Before that I went to the dentist when my daughter was 6 weeks old. The receptionist there has known me since I was an infant so she knows what I usually look life and when she over heard me talking to the dentist about the baby she said, "Did you say something about having a baby?" and I said "Yes, I just had a baby." I was beaming as any new parents does. I couldn't wait for her to ask questions about her so that I could break out the pictures and brag about my perfect angel. Instead she said, "Well that explains the belly." And I laughed. Laughed so that I wouldn't make her feel embarrassed. She followed up with, "How old is she?" and when I answered 6 weeks she said, "Oh well that really explains the belly."

I always do that, I thought on my drive home. I always and smiling politely when other people say rude things so that it's not uncomfortable. Why am I making myself laugh when someone calls me fat to my face? They SHOULD feel uncomfortable and embarrassed. They acted like an ASS. Yes, it really did explain the belly. And if it didn't, it's absolutely still rude and cruel to say. It's almost like people think to themselves, 'Gee, that woman with the baby doesn't realize that she's not pregnant anymore and she still has a belly. I think it's my duty as a peripheral character in her life, or even better total stranger, to let her know that she needs to loose weight. Because the day before you give birth your belly is adorable and the day after it's disgusting. Clearly, she doesn't know that.' If they thought for one second that they were saying anything I didn't think 100 times a day they were mistaken.

Then, about 8 months after I gave birth I needed new jeans. I was trying to avoid buying anything because I didn't want to commit to the size I was. I was really struggling with the last 10 and I still wouldn't accept defeat, but the fact was nothing fit- everything was either too big or too small. I went to Old Navy and tried on a few pair. A woman that worked there, we'll call her the Angel of Kindness, had been helping me before I went in the fitting room and when I came out disgusted and discouraged, I handed them back to her. She asked me if she could fetch me a different size and I said, "No. I'll be back when I am the size I want to be." and like the Angel of Kindness she is she replied, "Don't be too hard on yourself, you have a beautiful gift." I walked out of that store having bought nothing but I wasn't empty handed. I can't say I am not ever hard on myself, but I can say that I think of her kind words often, and in many places in my life.

Since then I have found a new routine that is helping everyday with loosing weight and I am happy to say that even though I am still not at the ultimate goal, I am officially smaller than I was before baby. But if I wasn't that wouldn't make me less of a person. So to all the people who speak before they think, do the world a favor and SHUT UP! Please?