Literally, today, for the first time in 8 months, I wore my hair down.
It wasn’t a conscious decision to break my pony-tail mold, but I got home from church with it still hanging loose, and when I walked into my bathroom it caught my eye in the mirror.
There are several things that I think made the difference that allowed me to be relaxed enough this morning to not bother pulling it back:
- I got a shower yesterday.
Does that seem super silly? If you have kids, I’m sure it doesn’t. But since BabyGirl was born in August, I’ve been fighting perpetually oily hair AND a flaky scalp. At the same time. Freaking postpartum hormones. But that’s starting to resolve, and the combination of my hair being healthier AND being only 14 hours past a shower meant that I had presentable hair without 4 bobby pins, half a can of dry shampoo, and an extra thick hair band. - I’m losing weight.
Since March first I’ve dropped 8 lbs. I’m so proud of that. After my last birth I was down 22 lbs at the 6 week mark, then immediately started rapidly gaining. I was up to only 10 lbs less than my 9 month weight when my midwife helped me get it halted with the right postpartum vitamins and some thyroid meds, but it took from October to March to get those top 12 lbs back off. Combining almost daily exercise with a much higher water intake and more carefully selected snacks has let me get that unhealthy white fat melting, and I’m headed in the right direction! - I have more energy.
I’m on a quest to find the lost time. The last generations of mommies had time to read to their kids. A lot. Time to bake beautiful things. Time to have their hair and nails done.
Okay. So I’m overgeneralizing. But I do have waaaay too little time in the day. So I’ve been searching for the little minutes. I have been leaving my phone in a different room when I head to bed so that I don’t accidently sit up for hours. I have been drinking more water. I have been cooking more simple foods. I went to a no-fold laundry system for the kids. And I’ve been doing yoga almost every day so that I can think more clearly and accomplish tasks more quickly.
All of the above resulting in: better sleep, better time usage, feeling better = more energy. - I’m cutting soda.
I’m a diet cola junkie. I admit it. I need that fizzy caffeine with the side of caramel coloring. But I used to drink it in moderation. I had a coffee aversion with the last pregnancy and devolved into nearly a 2 liter PER DAY of diet soda. Totally out of control. I like coffee again, but now my body is chemically addicted to all the additives in a diet soda. At the moment I’m 48 hours past my last soda, and while I’m on ibuprofen for the headache and I’ve been fighting a little nausea and general body aches, I woke up feeling much less bloated and much more energized than I have in months. - Baby is eating less…during the day…
This week BabyGirl started eating a bowl of table food (oatmeal, or potatoes, or scrambled eggs) as a meal in the afternoons, meaning we are doing one less day time feeding. She’s still eating 3-4 times at night, but just dropping one feeding seems to have helped my energy a bit.
All of the above combined this morning into me feeling confident and somewhat energetic, and my hair band spent the morning around my wrist instead of pulling my hair back.
SO, what’s the takeaway? Well:
- HANG IN THERE – the time for showers is well nigh at hand. You’ll get there!
- POSTPARTUM HORMONES ARE BRUTAL –Between unmanagaeble weight gain and hair problems, it’s fairly impossible to feel healthy and have a possitive self image. But it’s ok. You’ll level out!
- EVERYTHING IN MODERATION – Don’t go into a major workout routine while you’re a tired mommy. Just do a little. A few minutes here and a few minutes there to help energy levels and retighten your core.
- CUT THE PRETEND “HELPERS” – Diet soda doesn’t help me function, but my brain thinks it does. I can get more, and better, energy from a cup of coffee and an orange. If something has you convinced that it helps, but is actually bad for you, then get rid of it!
You’re gonna get there, pretty mamma. Just enjoy today with your pony tail in and your caffeine in hand, and try to find one little discipline today that will improve your state tomorrow. You’ve got this.
