DD Mostly Nursing at 11 mo, I'm Tired of Being so FAT!

[Evie P.]

Lately my curvy bod is getting me a bit down. Maybe it's the stick-thin women in designer sunglasses returning to the park after a long winter, and I know most of whom probably nursed for a month; but I admit, I'm starting to feel sad about not fitting into any of my old clothes, giant boobs aside.

Problem is, my DD is 11 months but still hardly eats any food. She has pea-sized meals with us after taking no food at all til around 9 mos. I'm fine with her slow move to food, but I would like to be a bit more aggressive with my own fat. I just fear any change to the ol' supply so I have resisted doing anything except cutting out sweets.

I saw posts here and on kellymom about dieting but all were for newer babies.

[Aka mommy]

What about just simply adding exercise, so that you dont have to change your diet?

My dd EBF for 11 months and i lost a lot of weight from bf'ing, everyone's bodies are different!

[AFWife]

No advice just a because I feel your pain! I can't lose the last of my baby weight either and my son eats like your DD

[StrawberryFields]

Originally Posted by Aka mommy

What about just simply adding exercise, so that you dont have to change your diet?

My dd EBF for 11 months and i lost a lot of weight from bf'ing, everyone's bodies are different!

I agree with this...what about an exercise video? I wouldn't be so quick to judge the women in the park. I am size zero and have nursed for 4 years straight, tandem nursed twice and nursed a toddler through 2 pregnancies. I would be upset to hear someone rolling their eyes saying that I probably just nursed for a month. Not trying to be harsh with you, but just pointing out that are bodies are all different--even breastfeeding women.

I am going to be trying the 30 Day Shred soon, I heard it is just fantastic.

[no5no5]

I also don't see why weight and breastfeeding are related. I was back in my pre-pregnancy clothes weeks after birth and I breastfed DD until she was 2. She was also one of those babies who is all milk all the time. I didn't diet, just ate healthy food and got reasonable amounts of exercise. ITA with those who have said that more exercise is one option. If you feel you need to diet, perhaps you could do that but supplement with omega fatty acids and mother's milk tea to keep your supply up.

[4Blessings]

Originally Posted by no5no5

I also don't see why weight and breastfeeding are related. I was back in my pre-pregnancy clothes weeks after birth and I breastfed DD until she was 2.

They definitely are related for some women.

No one really wants to hear about fitting into pre-preg clothes at weeks pp

I agree w/ adding in more exercise and I feel your pain OP

[no5no5]

Originally Posted by Proud2BeAnAmerican

They definitely are related for some women.

No one really wants to hear about fitting into pre-preg clothes at weeks pp

I agree w/ adding in more exercise and I feel your pain OP

I didn't mean to offend. But it does bother me when I hear women attributing their weight issues to breastfeeding or attributing a lack of weight issues to not breastfeeding. I think it's very sad that many women don't breastfeed when they otherwise would because they mistakenly assume that they need to stop to lose weight. Personally, I stopped breastfeeding earlier than I otherwise would have because I mistakenly believed that it would help with my fertility issues and I very much wish that someone had talked me out of it.

[GoGoGirl]

I feel your pain, too, OP.

I grew up with a LLL leader mom, who told me constantly that breastfeeding will make pregnancy weight "just fall right off!" HA! A year later, and I still weigh 30 (!!!) pounds more than I did before I got pregnant.

I'm working out every day, doing the 30 Day Shred mentioned upthread, and I really like it. I'm getting more muscle on my arms, but the scale isn't changing and the rest of my body seems to be staying the same. It really is frustrating, isn't it? I wonder if breastfeeding somehow affected my metabolism. Not that it's going to make me stop breastfeeding, of course.

[isabel rose]

Breast feeding is what helped me loose weight, with both my babies I put on about 20kg, and I have another friend who became dangerously thin because of her baby taking too many calories, but everyone's body is different and I know of others who dropped all the weight in the month after stopping BFing! They say it takes at least 12 months for your body to recover from birth, so take it easy, do gentle excersise, walking /riding a bike, ensure you are eating regular healthy meals and feel great about your amazing body that actually produced another person and then went on to produce FOOD for that person. WOW!.
PS I also was feeling a bit like this as it took longer this time than with DD but now, DS is 15 months, my "baby weight" has all just dropped off in the past 4weeks!!!
And I'm still Bfeeding!

[Kailey's mom]

Originally Posted by StrawberryFields

I agree with this...what about an exercise video? I wouldn't be so quick to judge the women in the park. I am size zero and have nursed for 4 years straight, tandem nursed twice and nursed a toddler through 2 pregnancies. I would be upset to hear someone rolling their eyes saying that I probably just nursed for a month. Not trying to be harsh with you, but just pointing out that are bodies are all different--even breastfeeding women.

I am going to be trying the 30 Day Shred soon, I heard it is just fantastic.

I clicked new posts, and saw this. You are a size zero, and you are about to do the 30 day shred (which I assume is an aggressive exercize regimine and /or diet plan) Please pm me if you are having any issues, I've btdt. Sorry if I'm way off on my thinking. Hugs!

[Evie P.]

It's not the nursing, it's the nanny-ing!

Ladies of all shapes and sizes, sorry for the shorthand on the kind of park I go to and for the resulting hurt feelings of all you thin nursing mamas. I live in a snooty neighborhood in NYC, and it is very rare to see any moms at all in the park. It is all nannies. I am one of very few freakish homeschooling types with two kids in tow at all times. So what I meant was that the weather suddenly changed, and suddenly all the perfect stick-thin moms in cute outfits appeared with their nannies for a day or two, and that this contributed to my feeling of Fat Frump -- even though I know that it is pretty easy when you have a full-time nanny to get your body back, as well as highlights, manicures, gym workouts, two-week-ski-vacas with no kids, designer heels and other things I might not even want if I had time without kids. I prefer my Fat-Frump-with-the-Kids to their Hot-Girls-with-the-Nanny-In-Tow.

And thanks to all for the support -- sounds like I have to do a combo of waiting it out and cutting out more bread. I have gone down probably three sizes since babe #2 was born, just haven't gotten all the way back. I live in NYC and don't have a stroller, so I am walking all day with the 17 pound weight and bags of groceries, etc. -- not sure I can add much more exercise than a swim or two per week but I figured that walking 2 miles per day with heavy weights should do the trick! Hasn't yet....

[Aka mommy]

Originally Posted by Evie P.

Ladies of all shapes and sizes, sorry for the shorthand on the kind of park I go to and for the resulting hurt feelings of all you thin nursing mamas. I live in a snooty neighborhood in NYC, and it is very rare to see any moms at all in the park. It is all nannies. I am one of very few freakish homeschooling types with two kids in tow at all times. So what I meant was that the weather suddenly changed, and suddenly all the perfect stick-thin moms in cute outfits appeared with their nannies for a day or two, and that this contributed to my feeling of Fat Frump -- even though I know that it is pretty easy when you have a full-time nanny to get your body back, as well as highlights, manicures, gym workouts, two-week-ski-vacas with no kids, designer heels and other things I might not even want if I had time without kids. I prefer my Fat-Frump-with-the-Kids to their Hot-Girls-with-the-Nanny-In-Tow.

And thanks to all for the support -- sounds like I have to do a combo of waiting it out and cutting out more bread. I have gone down probably three sizes since babe #2 was born, just haven't gotten all the way back. I live in NYC and don't have a stroller, so I am walking all day with the 17 pound weight and bags of groceries, etc. -- not sure I can add much more exercise than a swim or two per week but I figured that walking 2 miles per day with heavy weights should do the trick! Hasn't yet....

If you feel that there isn't much more you can do about the weight, maybe its time to focus on just loving yourself? And i say that with absolutely no snark or ill intent. But complete honesty and understanding. It's so hard to feel a certain way about yourself when you are in the majority of mothers who do things differently. This can be said about every aspect of parenting.

I live in a well to do community and don't fit in. While i havent had to battle the bulge of breastfeeding, i did spend a year overweight due to thyroid issues. It was hard and finally i stopped comparing how easy and why these mothers must be so thin and up to date and beautified and started loving me. I'm the one with the 2 amazing daughters who i lovingly bf for 30 months, i'm the one with 2 sweet girls who always say please and thank you at gymnastics and swim, i'm the parent who gets told randomly at outtings that my girls are extremely well behaved (while i think in my head, 'you should see them at home, it's all an act to woo you' lol). And with that i started building on "I'm a great mother". From there it went to "I'm a great mother with an amazing body that takes care of my children" And then it just becamse i'm a great person. And i stopped focusing on weight and things that set me apart from other mothers.

In this society, it is so hard to love ourselves. We never are taught to take the time to nurture ourselves. But in doing so, we are teaching our children how to do so. And my belief is that if we and our children can do so, body images and parenting differences wont matter so much in the future.

Be kind to yourself, you are beautiful and this phase in your life is sooooo short in the long run.

[TiredX2]

This isn't true for everyone, but has been true for several people I have known.

They lost a certain amt of baby weight very quickly and then just... didn't loose anymore. Their bodies seemed to be holding onto it. Then, sometime in the 2nd year (like around 18-24 months) they started loosing a lot of weight without much change. Now, it could be the increased activity level of the kids, lol, or it could be that their bodies just decided, "Hey, I can get rid of some of the fat, the baby doesn't need *only* me right now."

Good luck!

[Evie P.]

Originally Posted by TiredX2

This isn't true for everyone, but has been true for several people I have known.

They lost a certain amt of baby weight very quickly and then just... didn't loose anymore. Their bodies seemed to be holding onto it. Then, sometime in the 2nd year (like around 18-24 months) they started loosing a lot of weight without much change. Now, it could be the increased activity level of the kids, lol, or it could be that their bodies just decided, "Hey, I can get rid of some of the fat, the baby doesn't need *only* me right now."

Good luck!

You are so right, and I for one should know this, because that's what happened to me with my son (first one). I think I forgot about that til you reminded moi. Thanks!

[Evie P.]

Originally Posted by Aka mommy

In this society, it is so hard to love ourselves. We never are taught to take the time to nurture ourselves. But in doing so, we are teaching our children how to do so. And my belief is that if we and our children can do so, body images and parenting differences wont matter so much in the future.

Be kind to yourself, you are beautiful and this phase in your life is sooooo short in the long run.

You are sweet! Thanks for the nice words. I don't think I am in a deep dark place though, sorry if I gave that impression. Just wanted to hear what sane women were doing about the weight. And in fact it is wrong for me to even judge the fancy pants ladies around me just to get a laugh from the mothering mamas. But your words are nice -- thanks for the loooooove!

[StrawberryFields]

Originally Posted by Kailey's mom

I clicked new posts, and saw this. You are a size zero, and you are about to do the 30 day shred (which I assume is an aggressive exercize regimine and /or diet plan) Please pm me if you are having any issues, I've btdt. Sorry if I'm way off on my thinking. Hugs!

Oh boy, don't want to give anyone the wrong idea! I just had a baby 2 months ago I am still wearing maternity pants and sweats and looking for a postpartum exercise routine. I have some friends with kids who do Jillian videos and love them.

[MamaJenese]

I am one of those Mamas who can not loose weight while nursing. Diet exercise nothing worked my body just held onto the weight for dear life. I just stopped nursing for the first time in almost 5 years and lost 8 pounds the first week, it was crazy. Ya know what, holding the weight sucked. But I was healthy, babies where healthy and it will eventually leave!

[Evie P.]

Originally Posted by MamaJenese

I am one of those Mamas who can not loose weight while nursing. Diet exercise nothing worked my body just held onto the weight for dear life. I just stopped nursing for the first time in almost 5 years and lost 8 pounds the first week, it was crazy. Ya know what, holding the weight sucked. But I was healthy, babies where healthy and it will eventually leave!

I love it! Great lady.

[Evie P.]

Giant Lasagna Smack Dab in the Middle of the OP Post

Oi but I long for the days when the posting board was boringly formatted, just words, and you could see the post right at the top of the screen -- and there was no giant flashing lasagna stouffer's ad smack dab in the middle of a lonely mama's plea for help losing her baby weight!

[Hedgehog Mtn]

Hugs mama I'm right there with you. I've been there 5 times now. I have a 10 week old now and I can't fit into anything I wore even after my last 4. I'm exercising daily and while under everything else my body is stronger and stronger my body will not drop anything until I wean. I know because each baby was the same. When I do finally wean the weight will fall right off but nothing I do right now will make the scale move. I've decided my baby's health is priority and while it hard to love my larger self I'm working on it. I just concentrate on a healthy diet and lots of daily exercise and movement (seems like you are too) and accepting that this is the best I can do right now.