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Why I Didn't Lose the Baby Weight

I Never Lost the Baby Weight, and Honestly, I Don't Care What Anyone Says About That

A mother carrying her baby on sofa, and they are looking each other with smiling.

After giving birth to my daughter, losing baby weight was the last thing on my mind. Although it was nice to somewhat have my body back, I was nowhere near close to my prepregnancy weight, and honestly, I didn't care.

The moment I looked into my baby girl's eyes, she was all that mattered to me. She was my entire world, and I catered to her every need 24/7. Whenever she was hungry, I fed her. When she was crying and needy, I rocked her in my arms and put her in her baby sling. I couldn't bring myself to let her cry it out during the night, so whenever she wanted me, I was there for her — no matter what. Yes, it was exhausting, but that's the road I willingly chose. There was no time for me anymore, including getting myself back into shape, and I accepted that.

Some of my close friends asked me what my plan was to lose my baby weight — and I told them I didn't have one. My baby was born a couple of weeks early and we struggled with breastfeeding, so the only weight I was concerned with was my baby's. Instead of shedding pounds by going on jogs with my baby, I was shedding tears at lactation consultations, because I was so frustrated and worried about my daughter's health and nutrition.

In today's society, new mums face so much pressure to get back into shape immediately after giving birth. There are countless books and articles with advice for new mums to lose the baby weight. Society also sees celebrity mums bounce back to their perfect bodies with such ease. Although most celebrities are able to accomplish this because they have personal trainers, chefs, and nannies to help them transition back to their prepregnancy bodies, many women may still feel like they need to measure up to them — and I think it is absolutely unrealistic and ridiculous.

The pressure to lose weight doesn't go away as our babies get older either. If anything, I feel like it increases. It's like now that our child is older and doesn't require as much attention, society believes we have no excuse for not putting all our energy into losing weight. Again, I find this is completely ridiculous, not to mention completely none of anyone's business. Any mum at any stage of motherhood will tell you how very little time she actually has for herself every day — because our kids often come first.

I'm all for mums being and feeling happy and healthy, no matter their kid's age. If it's their desire to lose weight, I support them, but I feel that they should lose weight at a pace that is right for their lifestyle, not because they feel an external pressure to do so on someone else's timeline. Being a woman at any stage of motherhood is already hectic enough. Mums shouldn't feel added stress about losing weight on top of everything else going on in their crazy lives.

Mothers have to sacrifice so much, and they do it without complaint. I know there are women who have done an excellent job of transitioning into motherhood while never losing themselves or putting their goals and ambitions aside, and I highly commend them for it. Unfortunately, I'm not one of those mums. I never quite figured out how to juggle it all, and to be honest, I'm not sure if I ever will. But you know what? I'm totally fine with that.

Image Source: Getty / Kohei Hara
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