As a woman, having a baby changes you.
You change physically, yes, but you also change mentally … emotionally … spiritually … becoming a mumma changes you completely.
You become a blank slate.
Your goals change.
Your outlook changes.
Your priorities change.
You become a brand-new version of you.
For me, I feel like I’ve really come into my womanhood since giving birth to Little Miss A almost 10 weeks ago.
There is the overwhelming love but there’s also a brand-new feeling of responsibility … my priorities have completely shifted … for the better!
I am her strength, her example of what it means to be a woman. I’m who she will look up to. I am her ‘strength and her stay’.
And I’m here to provide an example of strength – to provide an example of what it means to be a strong, courageous, passionate (and compassionate), fearless woman …. a woman of faith … a woman who achieves what she sets out to achieve.
a ‘plank’ slate
It goes without saying that pregnancy and birth changes you physically.
Your whole body changes.
Admittedly, since giving birth, the physical changes are the ones I’ve found most challenging to grapple with.
As someone who’s been lean and fit for most of my adult life (thanks mainly to my love for endurance sports such as triathlon and running!), the changes to my body weight and shape have been tricky to come to terms with and accept – particularly since giving birth.
I wasn’t quite prepared the fact that your body doesn’t just bounce back to its original shape immediately after birth.
But rather than focus on my protruding belly, my thighs, or the number on the scales – after all my main priority now is breastfeeding not weight loss – I’ve decided to ‘blank slate’ this … to take this time to really focus on functional strength, core, and flexibility rather than whether I can fit into my old jeans or favourite running shorts.
While previously my training has included some strength/core work, I’ve never really been consistent in this space (well, outside from doing adult ballet consistently for 12 weeks, which did wonders for my running) … my training has basically consisted of a lot of ‘swim, bike and run’. So now is the perfect time to start from scratch and do things right!
back to the core
So, how am I ‘blank slate-ing’ this?
Now that I’m almost 10 weeks postpartum and my c-section scar is healing well, I’ve started doing 15-20 minutes of Pilates/yoga/functional strength each day.
Specifically, I’ve been following the Pregnancy and Postpartum TV YouTube channel.
I’ve also signed up to the Sweat App and am following the postpartum plan.
When I’m able to, I’m also keen to throw Yoga with Adriene into the mix, too!
My initial goal here is to do 15-20 minutes of functional strength/core each day and to stick with this for 30 days to start with.
By then, hopefully, strength/core will become a habit and part of regular routine.
Little Miss A and I have also been walking — and sometimes power walking if someone gets grizzly 🙂 — each day, too.
All of this has so far not only been great for my physical health, strength and but also my mental health as well – a happy mumma is a more present mumma.
And while I’m no super flexible ballerina and my core muscles aren’t quite back to where they were just yet … the way I see it, consistent functional strength and core will not only enable me to run well later on (I can’t wait to run with our little miss when her neck is stronger), but to care for Little Miss A, too!
x G.
editor, journalist, digital content creator with a background in nutrition & dietetics.
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