Before Sophie was born and I was slogging through my pregnancy, I was very concerned about how long it would take before I was back to my old self. Like most, I was mostly concerned with the baby weight I’d put on (30 lbs in my case) and feared I’d never be able to lose it. I’d heard way too many women still griping about the “baby fat,” even though their youngest child was graduating from college. I didn’t want to be one of those women.
I had read somewhere on the wonderful Internet that it would take six months before I felt normal, like my old self. Not like someone who had birthed something the size of a musk melon out of her hoo-ha. Reading six months truly bummed me out. I was so ready for the whole pregnancy ordeal to be over. I wanted my old body back, and I didn’t want to wait another six months to get it.
Sophie is about to hit the six month mark and I’m amazed at how the time has seem to fly by. Tomorrow is six month vaccination day, and as I sat down to jot a few questions for her pediatrician, I realized that the Interweb was right: it took six months. I finally feel like “me” again. You know, with engorged breasts that always seem to have a baby attached to them and fat that seems to have pooled in places it never pooled before, but yeah, myself. Myself but better, or at least I think so.
I suppose what amazes me the most is how we’ve all changed so much over these six months. The baby’s changes are obvious: she’s active, talkative, almost mobile. She’s changing from a drooling bundle to a little person, with her own personality, likes, and dislikes.
As for me, I’m awed by how I’ve made it this far and how drastically different and better my life has become over the past fifteen months. For all of the times that I longed for “normalcy,” I’ve ended up with so much more, baby weight and all. These first six months have been a crazy ride. I can’t wait to see what the next six bring.
