Ellen is now 7 weeks old, and this mama’s body is a-changing.

It’s hard to identify my favorite change, but a top contender is that my postpartum bleeding is all but over. After Lewis, this was about the time my period came back, but I started the pill this time around, so I don’t have to deal with my fertile-myrtle ways. Feeling quite clever for handling things differently.

I’m glad we went straight for the mini-pill this time instead of trying the IUD. I had such an awful experience with the IUD that I knew I didn’t want to go that route ever again. However, I do have some side effects from hormonal birth control that are somewhat unpleasant. There really isn’t any birth control option that is ideal for my body, but Kyle and I discussed all our options and decided that the mini-pill was our best temporary solution until we’re 100% sure we don’t want more kids, at which point we’d look into a vasectomy for Kyle. Until then, I will be suffering with the side-effects the pill causes with my digestive system. This is pretty much the only negative change in my body lately, and I think we should get back to the positives!

My TUMMY! You guys, it’s deflating. Granted, it is still a bit squishy and floppy, but I have noticed a visible decrease in size just in the last few days. I’m liking what I’m seeing in the mirror more and more as my tummy gets closer and closer to normal.

As my tummy deflates, my stretch marks on my sides are showing signs of fading. They’ve gone from deep purple to a bright pink. Next stop? White! The stretch marks on my calves and thighs are fading even quicker, which is surprising because they were much more numerous and severe.

Obviously, all this shrinkage means that the scale is moving the right direction too. The extremely rapid weight loss has stopped, but we’re still trending downward. I got back to my pre-baby weight by Lewis’s first birthday, so I think I’d like to do the same with Ellen. The goal is a bit loftier this time though, because I would like to get back to my pre-Lewis weight. I gained 10 lbs more with Ellen and I started out 10 lbs heavier (I gained those 10 lbs back after I stopped breastfeeding Lewis. Oops!), so that means I have 20 extra lbs to lose this time compared to last time. But you know what? I can totally do it. And I have until the end of next summer to make it happen.

I’ve been enjoying walks here and there, as well as little workouts around the house. I can feel my neglected muscles waking up – especially my lower abs – and it feels amazing. The other major contributor to continued weight loss is that I have regained control over my eating. During pregnancy, I felt completely out of control over what I ate. Immediately after giving birth, I lost my appetite completely. And now I am finally back to normal where I am not driven by cravings – I have them, but I can resist if needed – and I don’t feel like I need to eat 3 times a normal serving size due to an out of control appetite. “Normal” felt like such a distant memory that I wasn’t even sure if I could recall what it felt like or if I would be able to get back to “normal”. But here we are!

Sleep has been getting better and better as well. Ellen has continued to do longer stretches, and the morning hours are getting less noisy and weird, so I have been getting good sleep. I have also been appreciating the ability to lay on my stomach. I can’t do it for long because of my milky breasts, but I love to lay on my belly, so I relish every little moment I can get.

Other than all that, I’ve noticed that my nails have gotten pretty brittle after the insane pregnancy-induced nail strength faded. But my hair hasn’t started falling out yet. I think that happened around 4 or 5 months after Lewis, so I still have some time to enjoy my luscious locks.

Oh! Ellen just woke up from her nap. No time to proofread this, so forgive any typos or strangely worded bits. BYE!