After having my first child I seem to recall the extra pregnancy weight falling off rather quickly. At one point in my final days of my second pregnancy I was battling the sort of senioritis or ‘over-it’ feeling you get at the end and I made a list of all the things I was looking forward to doing after I got done being pregnant. It was a fun list to make and one item I remember that was more towards the top of the list was getting rid of my maternity clothes.

Then September 2nd rolls around, my son and I are snuggling in the hospital and I make a list again. What I’m going to do when I get home, I grab that pad of hospital paper and the pen and begin jotting down all sorts of things. Once again I excitedly jot down, “Get rid of maternity clothes!!!” I was just hating them at the end, most of them are not as comfortable or attractive as good ‘ol regular clothes.

When I finished my list I stood up to do something and passed by the mirror… hmm… was I this big after having my daughter the first time around? Oh well, it was only the day after of having my son, I should give it some time right, no big deal.

Then I arrive home and almost immediately begin bagging up my blasted maternity clothes. Haha, asta la vista elastic waste bands! Then the moment of truth, the maternity clothes are neatly packed up in the hall closet, waiting for their trip to the garage. I grab my ‘big girl’ clothes that I have left over from when my first child was born. All my regular clothes that are above my normal size 4, biggest pants first - I grab those ‘huge’ cargo pants and slip one leg in and… what’s this… they’re too tight?! NOOOOOO!!!

I have a friend that warned me about this. Told me that with the second child that weight doesn’t drop off as easily or as quickly, “Well, you’re a  little older” I remember her commenting as to one of the many factors that makes us hang on to the weight a bit more then the first go round. I’m only three years older what gives? This sucks! I sheepishly wander down the hall to face the maternity clothes I was cursing. Hi old friends, I try them on, they’re baggy, thank goodness. They’re comfortable and they’re better then nothing so I grab a few choice items and dress myself begrudgingly in the garbs.

My son is two months old now. I didn’t get the downtime with him that I got with my first child. The first child I had three months of maternity leave that I spent doing as little as I could. I spent most of my time staring at her. Relishing her perfect beauty and drenching her in kisses that I knew I had to get in before she was old enough to tell me to cut it out. My first trip to the grocery store with her was a big deal. The second child just can’t get that same treatment. There are dance classes to be dragged to and a million playdates and errands to run. I can stop and spend time smothering him in kisses because I make a point of it. Still, we’re more active, he and I, then I was with my daughter. Which is probably a good thing.

All that activity means the weight is dropping off now. It wasn’t the wiz-bang kapow of dropping off twenty pounds immediately but in the end I almost think it’s coming off faster. Two months later I’m fitting in to some size 6 pants (ok they’re probably miss-marked but it still feels good) and I don’t think I would have said that two months after my daughter was born. All this running around with my two kids and of course breast-feeding, which I always think of as literally sucking off the fat, seems to be doing the trick. The maternity clothes probably got shoved back in the closet after the first month. It was less dramatic then I hoped. I didn’t get to toss them aside immediately like I did after my first pregnancy but they’re gone now and I’m not missing them.
Bye bye jumbo elastic wasteband, hidden belly, secret belly fit,etc.

*Tales from the adjustable bed is taken from the notepad full of
ideas I jotted down while in the hospital after giving birth to my son. (previous)