On Thanksgiving Ava turned 9 months old, which also means I am now officially 9 months postpartum! So many things have happened since my last update three months ago. Ava started lots and lots of solids and hand feeds herself chunks of food, she started really crawling and is now pulling herself up to standing. I really think in the next couple months she will be trying to walk.
As for myself my life has become extremely busy! I totally underestimated working from home with a baby and how difficult it really is! When she naps I try to get as much done as possible for work, which can result in me barely eating throughout the day. Luckily I have my in laws 2 minutes away so they are helping a lot! I have started to look at day cares though because around the age of 1 I think it will be good for Ava to have more socialization with other babies.
We did do a baby music class and will be doing baby swim class next week. She also gets lots of time with her cousin Luna who is 7 weeks younger than her, but I feel that she needs to be in a more mentally stimulating environment a few days a week. I am on the waiting list for both a Montessori school and the Goddard school so we will see which one it will be!
As for my postpartum journey I get to the gym when I can, but the fact that I can’t be consistent with my weight lifting I am finding that it is a struggle to get my strength back and put some muscle on. Also, breastfeeding is really burning a ton of calories! This combined with being a busy working mom and not having time to eat multiple meals through out the day, is not helping my muscle growth either.
The picture above on the left is a 3-month difference. The difference is 6 months on the right and now at 9 months on the left. For me the saying 9 months on 9 months off was pretty accurate. I am one of the luckier ones who breastfeeding is really helping the weight come off plus more. I definitely still have some loose skin on my belly and the combination of the umbilical hernia plus I have about a finger and a half width of abdominal gap still is making my belly button look really weird and sticks out at the top.
I do have a permanent gap in my abs, but it is much stronger than it was just 5 months ago. With all the physical therapy I did and then continuing the exercises still to this day it has strengthened my core muscles and the layer underneath the gap, which is very important. This is because even though the gap may never close, if the layer underneath is strong that is what helps keep my core strong so I don’t have lower back issues and can now do exercises like the plank.
I am looking forward to my 1-year postpartum update to see where I am and if there has been any change to my body, especially if breastfeeding starts to slow down. What I am not 100% looking forward to is my baby being 1! : ( that will be an exciting and sad day all at the same time.