How to Lose the Baby Weight

My baby boy was born June 6, 2014; now 9 weeks later, I am eager to lose the baby weight. I am writing this hub to share with others my research on how to slim down while breastfeeding after birth.

This is not a success story. I have become very conscious of my post-baby body after just having my third child at age 32. My children, Julius (age 3), Jacey (age 1), and Jorgie (2 months old), are a handful so keeping active is never an issue. Here are some healthy tips, by nurses and doctors, that I've found to encourage myself while trying to lose the weight that I gained during my pregnancy.

During the first week or two, after delivery, you will lose about five to six pounds of water weight. It can take months to lose the rest of the weight! It took you nine months to gain the weight and it could take the same amount of time to lose it. Many things can play a factor in the time it takes to lose the weight. Those factors could include:

• Your Age; if you're an older mom, like me
• Your genetics make weight loss challenging, yes that's me
• If you gained a lot more than your obgyn recommended, eh hem ;-)

A woman in her twenties will have an easier time losing the weight than a woman in her thirties or forties. Discipline, dieting, and eating right are the key to losing the weight. After delivery, the weight can redistribute to your hips and bottom so that your shape looks different than before you were pregnant.

Always talk to your doctor about any exercise program that you are thinking about doing; especially if you have any medical conditions. It is safe to lose one to two pounds per week but no more than that! Continue to take your prenatal pills.

Do it slowly! - Wait to start any exercise program until your uterus heals completely from delivery. This would be a time period of about six weeks after vaginal delivery and approximately eight weeks after a c-section. At that point, you can start any exercise program that you feel comfortable with. You can start out with walking, running, go to the gym, or do exercise videos at your house. Exercise will make you feel more confident and increase your morale.

Target Heart Rate - Try to get your heart rate up to meet your target hart rate zone. Click HERE to see a target heart rate zone calculator. The calculator takes your age and resting heart rate to calculate target heart rate, which is the safest most effective rate for your heart to be beating. Do a combination of cardiovascular exercise with strength training, or moderate weightlifting. Exercise for a minimum of thirty minutes for most days of the week.

Eat enough healthy calories - If you are breastfeeding, make sure that you eat enough calories to provide for your body and that of your baby. A breastfeeding mother will need about four to five hundred extra calories a day (compared to only three hundred extra calories during pregnancy). Doing a crash diet after pregnancy will cause problems with your milk supply. Make sure that they are good healthy calories (whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, lean proteins, drink lots of water, etc). Exercise will not have as big of an impact on milk supply as what you are eating might.

Other things you can try - Feed your baby more frequently throughout the day. If your baby normally eats every two to three hours, throw in an extra feeding. You can also pump for ten minutes after each nursing session.

• Belly - As a result of the skin, connective tissue, and muscles being stretched over the uterus for the entire pregnancy your mid section may be a little slushy, looking shriveled, droopy and saggy. Unfortunately, this condition can be permanent. Some women can regain their firm stomach and you'd never even know they were pregnant. A c-section will take a while to heal as well. Your doctor may recommend that you wait a couple of months after delivery before starting abdominal strengthening and exercise. The c-section scar will become less noticeable with time. Some moms will experience a little pouch above the incision.
• Skin - Stretch marks will appear as your body expands to accommodate the growing baby. Stretch marks can come in a variety of colors including red, brown, purple, or silver. When your skin shrinks back after pregnancy, the stretch marks may still be noticeable. However, they will fade over time. Many women, even though they don't like the stretch marks on their body, feel that their stretch marks are worth it when they look at their beautiful children; I do.
• Chest - Breast appearance can change due to many different factors, including: pregnancy, breast feeding, weight gain, weight loss, and aging. Areolas can darken when you start breastfeeding. They will become bigger than they were during pregnancy when your milk comes in. Nipples and areolas that became darker during pregnancy can change colors and lighten up over time after delivery. After you're done breastfeeding they will return to prepregnancy size. This is when they become looking deflated and saggy.
• South of the border - After delivery, stretched skin and soreness are normal. It's reassuring that the skin will begin to shrink and recover in just a few weeks. Will it return to its original size? Several factors can determine how long it will take, including: the size of your baby, the number of children you've had, and whether you do regular kegel muscle exercises to restore muscle tone. After having a baby, you may notice a loss of control of your bladder. Urinary incontinence is normal and can last a few weeks or longer. The nerves and muscles usually recover fairly quickly.
• Other Changes -
• Your hair can get thicker during pregnancy due to high estrogen levels that slow the rate of hair loss. After pregnancy, you'll start shedding more hair as your estrogen levels go back down. Within a year, you'll have your pre pregnancy locks.
• Your menstrual cycle can from heavier to lighter in flow.
• You may experience joint pain. Pain can be experienced in your fingers, knuckles, shoulders, back, and everything.
• You may be wearing a different shoe size after you have the baby.
• Altered or decreased sensitivity down south is another change you may experience after pregnancy. Some changes are welcome, while others are not.

Try not to compare yourself to other women. Many of the things that you might be dissatisfied about now, could improve over time. Talk to your doctor about your feelings and ask for possible solutions, including a regimen, treatment, or surgery. Don't focus on the negative aspects of these body changes. Instead focus on the beauty and relationship that you'll have with your children. It's likely that you'll be too busy worrying about and chasing around your kids than these little imperfections, anyway. These changes are all natural and normal that all moms go through. Most moms would do it all over again after looking at their little baby's glowing face because of the unconditional love that they experience from the new relationship.

Watch the Baby Center video HERE.

Melinda Longoria, MSM has sold maternity clothes online since 2012, has three beautiful children, and has helped many other moms with their questions on her successful Facebook fanpage, Maternity Clothes Online, which has over 868 followers. Please feel free to post your comments and questions about this hubpage in the below comment box.

Please leave in the comments your experiences losing weight after delivery. Also, can you recommend a good exercise program?

Thank you for stopping by today!