'Da Bod

So one of my biggest questions during pregnancy was how in the good heavens was my body going to look after the baby arrived? I mean, hard to picture going from this:

To this:

Without having some worrisome repercussions.

I must say that overall I've been pleasantly surprised. At the end of my pregnancy I had gained about 33lbs, with an additional 7-8lbs that I gained during the infertility process (I was slightly underweight when we started trying to get pregnant, and this can affect your fertility, so they suggested I gain 10lbs or so). All in all, I was hoping to lose about 40lbs after River arrived, and at this point (about a month post-birth), I only have 10lbs or so to go. Things I have to thank for this include:
1. No longer being inhabited by a 7lbs creature that causes me to retain fluids like some sort of man-made reservoir.

2. Breastfeeding a baby who may or may not be on his way to a life of obesity based on how much he currently eats. Breastfeeding is like being hooked up to a 24 hour a day liposuction machine. Now if I splurge and have some ice cream, I know I can just stick River on ol' leftie or rightie and suck those calories right out.

3. Staying in shape before/during my pregnancy. I really do think this made a huge difference in how quickly my body has bounced back - not only in weight/looks, but also how I feel. I was already back to working out 3 weeks after the baby was born, and it felt great.

4. Total loss of appetite. This one is kind of weird, because everything I've heard and read talks about how ravenous you get during breastfeeding, since it burns so many extra calories. For some reason, though, I have had zero appetite ever since the baby was born. This one concerns me a little because I know my nutrition is key to ensuring that River gets what he needs through my milk, so I just need to be better about reminding myself to eat regularly and to eat more than a fat free strawberry Jello (but that being said, those Jellos are killer good.)

So, there's the Niel body conscious update. I'm sure you'll all sleep better now that you don't have to lie awake, plagued by unanswered questions as to the state of my mid-section post-baby. Annnnnnd, you're welcome.