Short answer, no I am just fat from the last baby.
That’s not really how I felt a week ago, I was pretty OK with my weight slowly going down and the first pre-pregnancy clothes starting to fit again. But then a teenager admiring Leilani asked if I was pregnant again, which did not make me happy. I gave her exactly that short answer, smiling bravely, and she was pretty embarassed, stuttering about Britney whose Baby is Leilani’s size, and her own sister who also looked pregnant for a long time after giving birth. I had read about this question before in Dear Abby (“Never ask, rude question!”) and in Mothering Magazine and similar publications (“Laugh it off”), but I had not expected it to happen to me.
The stroller has been gathering dust in the corner, Leilani gets up late these days, Chloe is on vacation, and Andy is so busy at work making it hard to find the time to go out jogging. Andy was off during the July 4th week, but we were so busy childproofing, organizing and getting solar hot water that it felt I had less time off than in a regular week. No exercise at all, but we did go to 2 parties, the second one at the beach where the unhappy question was asked.
I looked in the mirror, and although I was almost at the weight I was before getting pregnant, my body shape has changed a lot. My legs are thinner, and less muscular, and my belly really does look pregnant, and I have less muscle more fat in general. Anyway… I went on a diet right away, didn’t seem radical to me, but I dropped 3 pounds in the first week– yesterday morning I weighed 143 pounds. I think that is too much while still nursing, so I had a good dinner yesterday. And yes, I am eating enough protein and vitamins… I am doing crunches and situps every second day, and a few other exercises while Andy watches the baby now, and hope that will eventually help.