Well, we made it back from Hawaii. I was too busy enjoying our vacation to write another blog post, so in the meantime, while I am working on recapping our whole trip–including the excursions we went on, where we ate, the resort we stayed at, and things you must do if you ever travel to Maui, I’m sharing another post I’ve been working on.
It dawned on me the other day that I like my post-baby body more than my pre-baby body, and I never thought that would be possible!
Prior to getting pregnant and having Cullen, I felt like I was doomed to be more unfit, carry more weight, and most likely not get any faster with my running. Maybe it was me being pessimistic, but I had seen so few women become more fit after having a baby, I figured I would never be able to run new PRs or continue to improve my fitness either.
And let’s make something clear, my intent with this post is to share my experiences and say that it IS possible to love your post-baby body more and to be more fit after having a baby. This is my story—and only my story. Your experience (or your friend’s experience) might be totally different, so I hope this post will encourage rather than discourage. I am not trying to judge or discredit anyone else’s journey. We each have our own stories, and this is mine.
October 2014 – Three days before I went to the hospital to deliver Cullen.
My pre-baby body was something I was proud of. I was able to run a 3:17 marathon and a 1:30 half marathon. I felt fit, and I was proud that I was physically able to do so much with it. However, I often felt stuck at my weight and fitness. I often went to bed hungry just to maintain my weight. (In hindsight, I think this was from being on an oral contraceptive.) I lifted and worked on my core regularly but never had much of a chiseled body. I was by no means actually chubby, but Craig and I now joke about my pre-baby body as being a chubbier version of my current self.
May 2013
During my pregnancy, I know I worried/wondered if I would ever be able to fit back into my pre-pregnancy jeans. I had seen a lot of people carry more weight after having a baby and figured that is just what it had to be. I definitely didn’t hate being pregnant, (I had a very easy, uncomplicated pregnancy.), but I also missed being able to bend over to tie my shoes, sleep on my stomach, and run without discomfort.
I know I thought about my running goals after having a baby, but I don’t remember getting too fixated on my sub-3 hour marathon goal that my coach, Nichole, had initially planted in me just a few months prior to getting pregnant. I know I did want to get back into running after having a baby because I loved running! However, I also distinctly remember wondering how I was going to fit my daily run in. Would I still have the energy to get up early in the morning? Would I even have the desire to train hard again?
September 2014
After having Cullen, I took my time getting back into running, being conservative with my goals and not wanting to jeopardize the healing of my incision from my C-section. But I knew people were following along with my journey, which motivated me to get back to it sooner rather than later. I remember hitting my stride 3 months postpartum and then running a race 6 months postpartum (a 5K in a time of 19:31) and feeling like I was getting back into my groove.
It was after this race my coach, Nichole, contact me saying she had a spot open on her team, and that she would love to work with me to help secure my big, dream goal of a sub-3 hour marathon. To be honest, I don’t even know if that goal had even crossed my mind up until this point. She had first planted this 1.5 years ago, and I am still not sure I believed it was possible. Instead, I was too preoccupied with getting Cullen to sleep more than 2 or 3 hours in a row at night.
By the summer of 2015, I had lost the baby weight and continued to drop some additional pounds over the summer. (Thank you breastfeeding!), but I was also doing a lot of mileage peaking at 70+ miles before running—and winning— the marathon at the Anchorage RunFest just 9.5 months postpartum.
August 2015
I continued to train under Nichole that winter and run times I had never run before. By May 2016, was the fitted I have ever been, and I wasn’t even 2 years postpartum. I had lost 10 pounds after having Cullen, I had learned to reengage my transverse abdominis with some physical therapy to try and heal the diastasis recti (ab separation) I had, and I was more fit and fast than I had ever been.
Unfortunately I had a rough 2016/2017 winter with a injury for 10 months, but this last summer during 2017, I came back and continued to set new PRs in the 10K and marathon.
August 2017
While I love my post-baby body more, it isn’t perfect. I still have loose skin around my mid-section, there are stretch marks on my stomach, and I still have a crevice in between my abdominal walls. But I am more toned than I ever have been, and I remind myself that my body grew another human being inside of it for 9 months.
Twin Cities Marathon – October 2017
These new PRs, new boost of confidence, and a desire to work harder than I ever have came with a lot of hard work, early morning wake-ups, and a lot of support from my coach and assistant coach (aka my husband), but I’m proud that I can say I am faster after baby.
Related blog posts:
Return to Running After a C-Section
How I Became Faster After Having a Baby
Thank you for sharing! I haven’t had children and I am not sure if I ever will but do you no longer take birth control? You mentioned that your birth control seemed to be causing the weight issues so if you aren’t taking it anymore are you planning on having more children? If that’s too personal, please ignore and just remember how awesome of a runner you are. Keep being an inspiration.
Not too personal! I was on the pill until I was ready to get pregnant with Cullen, which I *highly* doubt I would ever go back on. I don’t know for sure, but I really do think it caused me to retain extra (water?) weight. Then after I had Cullen, I got the Mirena IDU, which I like a lot better!
I was actually going to ask a similar question about birth control because I’ve had a somewhat similar experience. Retained weight on oral contraceptives, switched to the Mirena a few years ago (which i also love) and have similarly been the fittest I’ve ever been now. Maybe it was some lifestyle changes, but I feel like my body just looks so different now.
I also wanted to thank you for writing this post. I’m at an age where having kids is in the forefront of my mind and postpartum body changes is something I think about A LOT. Thank you for sharing such a real and encouraging post!
I really didn’t change much about my diet or exercise either, so I think it was the pill for me as well. Like I said in my previous reply, I highly doubt I’ll ever go back to it. I’m glad you found this post encouraging! I really don’t want women to think they can’t be as fit or fast after having a baby.
I think you are beautiful, and it’s great you prefer your post-baby body.
For me, though, being real, I can’t say I feel the same, at all. I weigh less and am significantly faster than I’ve been since undergrad. I’m much fitter than I was pre-babies. However, I don’t like the stretch marks on my breasts and lower belly. I don’t like that my breasts sag after three total years of breastfeeding my two kids (18 mo apiece). I don’t like the anal fissure I got during my first delivery that was exacerbated by the second delivery, nor the hemorrhoids. I don’t like the loose skin on my belly or the way my lower belly sags a bit. I don’t like the gray hairs, which are no doubt partially due to age, but also I think due to the stress of pregnancy, delivery, and small children. Basically, if I could have my pre-baby back, I’d take it in an instant. It was 1000% worth it, but I did not emerge unscathed.
I would agree with some of those things. I, too, have stretch marks on my stomach that I don’t love and sagging boobs that are two flat pancakes. I, personally, would still take my faster times in exchange for these things, but there are a lot of physical changes that aren’t the greatest that we have to endure. I wish my husband could take his turn being pregnant next time. Ha!
Love the body positivity in this post!
Thank you! I’m always leery about posting potentially controversial things like this.
Way to go mama! For me it was quite similar. The best shape I’ve ever been in my life was after having my son. Insanity made an insane body. Maybe it’s because being a mother shows you how much you’re really capable of. I’m still not quite myself after having my daughter but based on experience it’s only a matter of time.
I’ve also heard that having a baby changes hormone levels that allow you to become more fit. (Not exactly sure how true that is.) Or you just know your time as a mom is limited, so you have to make the most of the one or two hours a day you have to workout!
I really appreciate your perspective! I am pregnant with my second, and my provider told me at my last appointment that I have some diastasis recti, likely left over from my first…I hadn’t given much thought to my abs postpartum – I was running well, faster and happily, and with no injuries. But I guess this second time around, I should pay more attention. Less for vanity and more to prevent problems that could affect my running!
My physical therapist said that she wasn’t concerned with the size of the gap in my abs but rather that my transverse abdominis was engaging properly. And there definitely are injuries that could stem from weak core muscles.