The elephant in the room

   I go to sleep every night and wake up every morning thankful of this life I've built. I truly mean that. I really try to enjoy every second. Sometimes it's a little harder when we have had to get up every hour in the night but it doesn't take us a half a breath to savor that many couples and people do not have this luxury! We really do make our family moments first.

Here's me in my first postpartum new pair of pants after baby. It took

18 tries to finally find the cut and style for my new to me body after

baby! Totally worth the effort to feel good about my body and be comfortable!

   My post partum experience has been memorable. I cannot say enough how amazing this was starting with the birth of our child at home, being the boss of our birth and our baby's entry into this realm. We savored laying in our bed, I loved not having strangers helping me with my aftercare. My mom was fantastic with cooking food and freezing it in servings and leaving the surprise in our freezer for my husband and older daughter to be able to prepare. The whole experience was exactly as we imagined it could be. It was truly wonderful. *sigh*

   What I wasn't expecting was an abdominal separation that didn't close until  the seven month postpartum....and I had enjoyed bringing three daughters into the world previously. I had a perpetual backache from about the second trimester of pregnancy until our baby turned 13 months old. I FINALLY found relief from a fellow yogi who stars on YouTube. Yoga with Adriene I'm not associated with her in any way besides if I don't feel like stacking my own yoga practice together, I can do yoga with my pooches as she does yoga with hers.
This 20 minute yoga practice for the core is an ass kicker. It truly reached places that only our Finn had enjoyed and savored for nine months. I couldn't even delve into core work until my ab separation was completely healed so I only did this particular workout when I was plenty healthy. After just a few days of this workout, my backache disappeared! Try it and you'll be in awe at the serine work you put in for yourself. I just love not running around like a mad woman to get the results I seek.

A REAL after baby photo

of sagging skin 13 months

postpartum.

   Another thing I wasn't expecting was what loose skin means...yeah yeah I have had stretch marks and had a little loose skin. The term "loose skin" doesn't quite give it justice....Imagine skin that sags, appears lumpy?  and reminds you of a elephant. It catches the craziest shadows. Finn made herself quite the home and my body was more than happy to oblige,  as it should be.  But this leftover skin....holy moly. Preparation H is coming to the rescue ASAP! If you want to know a little secret on how to tighten up loose skin temporarily to get you through a rough patch, the medication in Preparation H hemorrhoid cream or ointment tights skin and dehydrates the area. Always test out a patch to see if you have a skin irritation reaction. If it looks good, slather it on and watch the skin get back to where it's suppose to be for a little while. Your body created life, it served you then and it serves you still. It is a temple to be appreciated and amazed at. Sagging skin firms up over time, don't be hating if it takes longer than someone else. Drink plenty of water and use it as an elixir to cure your ails and keep your system flushed. Be patient :)

Blessings!