THE RAW TRUTH OF OUR POSTPARTUM BODIES & FITNESS

OK, I'll admit it ... this was almost the post that never was. I'd be lying if I said that the self-conscience, little voice inside my head wasn't screaming at me, "You CAN'T possibly be thinking about showing those photos to anyone ... let alone the entire blogosphere!"

BUT, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I certainly can't be the only postpartum mama out there struggling with the realities of her post-baby body ... scratch that, the realities of her postpartum body circa FIVE babies. 

So, here it is, the raw truth of my postpartum fitness journey after birthing five kiddos!

I was 25 when I gave birth to the first of our tribe, Miss Emma Jo. Topping the scale at 9 lbs. 2 oz. and 20.5" long (not 25" like her daddy mistakenly originally told everyone -- you should've seen some of the reactions!), she evidently wanted to make sure mama's skin was niiice and stretched for the rest of The Hajduch Bunch crew (she must have known something we didn't).

38 weeks with Baby #1

With baby #2, Miss Finley May, I found myself pregnant again just seven months after having Emma (a surprise, but a great one as it turns out!). Finnie didn't try to outdo her sister, weighing 8 lbs. 8 oz. and (also) 20.5" long (daddy got it right this time around with his announcement). 

37 weeks with Baby #2

Mr. Beckett man, numero tres, arrived just a little over three years post Miss Fin. Like I shared previously, we "knew" he was going to be the last of our little nuggets to join the fam bam, and he evidently wanted to go out with a bang, crushing his biggest sister's stats at 9 lbs. 10 oz. -- yes, he was a tank, AND, as it turns out, the ONLY one of our five that I birthed without an epidural (not by choice, that's a post for another day). 

Bonding with the pregnant pigs at the State Fair \\ 36ish weeks with Baby #3

And, last, but certainly not least, the twins. And BOY did they do a number on me. Miraculously, I was able to get through babies one, two and three with minimal stretch marks or complications. Thanks to these two, and carrying close to a combined total of 12 lbs. of babies (even with them still being five weeks early!) they solidified that my bikini-wearing days are looong gone, and that pregnancy can cause some strange (and sometimes plain horrifying!) pregnancy side-effects (but, just like Forest Gump, that's all I have to say about that).   

33 weeks // 11 days prior to having Babies #4 AND #5

I share all of this for a couple of reasons ...

1. Because, ladies, isn't it amazing what our bodies can do? They can stretch, grow and house LIFE! Human life! I've always said that I don't know how anyone can go through pregnancy, delivery or recovery without believing in God. It is nothing short of a miracle that for nine months, our bodies can grow a tiny little human, and, if a mom chooses and/or is able to breastfeed, they then continue to give life with a perfect cocktail of nutrients with breastmilk (if you haven't read up on some of the fascinating things about breastmilk, do it! It really is crazy!).  
2. And, even with knowing all of that, it still doesn't always make it easy to "deal" with the "aftermath" of what our post-baby bodies look like. Your once favorite pair of jeans just don't quite fit the same, even if you drop back down to your pre-baby weight, thanks to those "childbearing hips." You can kiss goodbye all of those tank tops and summer dresses where you once were able to go bra-less, because "the girls" need quote a bit more support than they used to ... It becomes easy to longingly think back to your late-teen/early-20-something years and think, "Oh, if I could just go back!"

But, listen up, here's the thing. I wouldn't change any of it. AND, if given the choice to go back to my age nineteen, size four self, I honestly wouldn't. As crazy as it sounds, I have more confidence NOW then I ever did with my body back then. My body has made me a mom FIVE times over. FIVE! And, every stretch mark, piece of cellulite or mom-flab, is a reminder of that.

I'd love to say that I've felt this way from the start, but in reality, this is unfortunately a fairly recent revelation ...

At five weeks PP with the twins, my brother pursuaded me to do something I never thought I would do -- sign up for Farrell's eXtreme Bodyshaping's 10-week-challenge. Considering I hadn't worked out in about two years prior to this, this was a major lifestyle change and shift for me. Like so many other moms out there, I didn't think I had the time to workout with five young kids at home. But, as it turns out, the fact is that I didn't make the time. 

For the past 10-weeks, I have been busting my butt, missing only a handful of sessions, to get to 5:15 am kickboxing and resistance training classes (to anyone who knows me from my collegiate basketball days, you can go ahead and pick your jaw back up off the floor after reading I voluntarily did strength training. I still hate it, but I did it!).

I learned how to punch a bag -- jabs, crosses, hooks, uppercuts, back-leg-roundhouses ... you name it, I did it!

I pushed myself through reps of things like push-ups, squats, sit-ups, mountain climbers, burpees and speed-skaters.

I learned what the term "band-up" meant, and graduated from using the easiest color band on (most) of my resistance bands reps. 

I did circuits of sprints and punching sequences, re-learned how great you feel after completing a run, and for the first time ever in my life, really started to pay attention to the food I was putting in my body (hello, avocados and roasted brussel sprouts, where you have BEEN all my life?).

And, here's the craziest thing ... I enjoyed it! Sure, were there plenty of mornings where the twins had been up pretty much all night and the last thing I wanted to do when my alarm went off at 4:15 am was to get up and go hit a bag? Of course! BUT, I got through it by remembering that this was my time. It was the only time during my day where I didn't have to play referee between two kids bickering, change the smelly rear of one of my three diaper-wearing crew members, or tandem feed two newborn babies. I had a guaranteed 45 minutes of my day where all I had to think about was me. And, as selfish as that can sound, I learned a valuable lesson in just how important it is! 

Yesterday (Saturday) was the last day of week 10, and we finished it out with final testing.

At the beginning of the challenge, you take a "before" photo, do a timed 1-mile run, see how many sit-ups/push-ups you can complete in a minute, do the sit-and-reach test, get weighed, and get a reading on your body fat percentage (all things every 5-week-postpartum mom wants to do, right?)

On the final day, you repeat all of that testing once again to see how you've (hopefully!) improved. I debated whether or not to share with you my results, but decided, why hold back now? And, I do so, not with the intent to say that I am the embodiment of fitness (far from it, actually!), or because I can tell you the miracle cure for not still loving carbs or ice cream (why, oh WHY, can't those things be health foods?!). I share because I hope that in sharing, maybe just one person will be given the confidence boost they need to take some time for themselves, to make being healthy a priority ... and for no one else but themselves!

Here I am in all my glory, 5-weeks PP with Babies #4 & #5 at Day 1 Testing

15-weeks PP with Babies #4 & #5 at Final Day Testing

Even after losing 15 lbs., over 10 inches in my waste, arms, hips and thighs, cutting my mile time down by more than 2 1/2 minutes, and completing three times the amount of push-ups on the final day than I did on the first, I can say that the biggest change is how I feel.

I feel like a strong mom. A mom who cares about herself, and wants her daughters to see how important that is.

Am I perfect? Heck no! Do I still have a ways to go? Absolutely! Do I still dream of washboard abs? Who doesn't? But, am I proud of where I am after birthing five kiddos? Damn straight!

So, here's the thing, mamas. There's no time like the present to start loving yourselves. It's not in how you look, but how you feel, that's important. It may have taken me five kiddos to get where I am, but I'm so thankful I'm here, and I'm even more excited to see where it takes me ...

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Tell me about your postpartum fitness journey! What helped you get through those first weeks/months/years after having a baby? Any postpartum exercises you've done that you've really noticed a difference with? Recipe tips? I'm all ears!