A Weighty Issue...

Seven months after having Whit, I still have 15 pounds to lose until I am back at my pre-pregnancy weight, and it is driving me CRAZY!!! Long before I got pregnant, I always knew that I wanted to breastfeed my children. My mother breastfed me during a time when it wasn't really "in" to do such a thing, and I really respected that. So, I read all sorts of literature about breastfeeding while I was pregnant, and Scott and I even took a "Breastfeeding Couples" class together a few weeks before Whit arrived in hopes that I would be as prepared as possible to nurse my child. (By the way, I'm still not really sure why they had a breastfeeding couples class at Northside. The guys didn't really do anything for the entire 4 hour long class, but I digress!) Even though I had already made the decision to breastfeed, I was even more excited about it when I read that nursing mothers often lose their pregnancy pounds more quickly than non-nursing moms because of the 500 or so calories burned during breastfeeding sessions. I decided that packing on 45 lbs. would be no problem because surely, I would be able to lose the weight in no time. Well, none of my trusty books said anything about how hungry I would feel while nursing!! To this day, it astonishes me how much I can eat. I thought I ate a lot during my second and third trimester, but that was nothing compared to the last seven months! (I ate very little during my first trimester because I threw up almost every day...terrible morning sickness for 3 solid months!!) Anyway, fast forward to today. I still cannot fit into most of my pre-pregnancy clothes, and as I gaze into my closet, I long to be able to put on my beloved Banana Republic jeans and my White House/Black Market tops, but alas, they are just too tight. I know part of it is completely my fault...I do not exercise nearly as much as I should, but it is so challenging when you are caring for an infant all day. I also know that I should eat more healthfully, but when you are often starving, it is hard to think clearly and rationally. So, here I am. I plan to nurse Whit until he turns one year old, and then, HOPEFULLY, I will be able to shed the last of my pregnancy weight probably just in time to get pregnant again with my luck! In all seriousness, I know that this is nothing compared to what many people in the world are dealing with right now. Part of me feels guilty for even allowing myself to rant about such an insignificant subject, but now that I have, I must admit, I do feel a bit better. I am going on a long walk tomorrow at the Roswell Rec, so maybe, just maybe, I will be able to fit into those old clothes before January 11th hits after all. We shall see!