Lose That Pregnancy Weight. Start with a Vaginal Birth!

So here you are 9 months later and who knows how many lbs heavier and the contractions have kicked in. This is the start of your new weight loss plan. It’s pretty brilliant actually….not only are you pushing out a baby and losing lots of fluid that have all contributed to the number on the scale but you are embarking on probably the most intense workout session that even Bob or Jillian couldn’t rival! I’ve heard that going through labor and the act of giving birth could be the equivalent of running a marathon. And for most of us…that would be running a marathon without doing even one day of training for it. Now I wish I could tell you exactly how many calories you burn giving birth but it all depends on what kind and how long of a labor you have. If you needed any further motivation to try and have a vaginal birth this should just be the icing on the cake.

With a vaginal birth, be it at home or in the hospital, you will speed up your recovery time enabling you to start moving and losing weight much sooner than if you had a c-section. You will also be able to burn more calories by carrying your baby around as soon as right after birth. You will have a better chance at breastfeeding which plays a very large role in your weight loss plan.

Vaginal Birth=Burn More Calories=Weight Loss

Vaginal Birth=Quicker Recovery=Weight Loss Starts Sooner

Vaginal Birth=Easier Breastfeeding Start=Burn More Calories=Weight Loss

Breast Feeding and Weight Loss

I’m sure you’ve heard that breastfeeding can help you to lose weight. It’s no joke…really! On an average you will burn 500 extra calories a day. Could be less or could be more up to even 1000 calories a day. I’d have to say I’d rather sit in my rocking chair or lay in bed gazing into my little nurslings eyes and smelling her sweet smell than spend an hour or more running on the treadmill and/or driving myself mad on an elliptical machine…wouldn’t you? There will be no other time in your life that your body will be able to burn so many calories without you having to expend a major amount of physical effort and energy. That being said, this is also the easiest time in your life to take advantage and do a little extra moving around to multiply that 500+ calories burned. Milk it while you can girls! But this doesn’t mean cut back on the calories you are consuming. Please don’t do that! You still need to make sure you are giving your body the fuel it needs to produce this amazing milk for your little one and keep you healthy and full of energy.


We are breastfeeding on demand. That means I feed her whenever she cues me that she’s hungry. The hospital lactation consultant told me that I needed to feed her every 2 hours. Well sometimes that’s the case but sometimes she needs to eat every hour, sometimes every 3 hours and occasionally she needs to be at the breast every 20 minutes or so. With all of the changes she’s going through and growth spurts that come and go it makes sense to me that she does not look at the clock and say “ok mom, it’s been 2 hours it’s time for me to eat now.” It can be exhausting for me sometimes but it’s what I signed up for. I’m here to nurture her however she needs it and she is flourishing! She’s growing fast and is right on top and even ahead of some of the developmental stages. And…I’m losing weight. This is why it’s hard to say exactly how many calories are burned breastfeeding. Some days it’s probably way more than others based on what she needs. I’ve heard that it could be something like 20 calories burned for every oz of milk.


Breastfeeding=Burning Calories=Weight Loss



Have you lost weight while living an Attachment Parent lifestyle?

Share your story with me! I'd love for more people to see how easy and fun it can be to lose weight this way.

Breastfeeding While Babywearing

I had no idea what a huge help to breast feeding babywearing was! Now, I don't know how I would live without it. "Little" is such a happy baby and as long as she is rested and fed she is so much fun to hang out with. I love being able to just jump up and head out of the house, even at the last minute, without having to worry about a feeding or nap schedule. Babywearing and breast feeding on their own make us a very mobile duo but doing it together makes us unstoppable! We don't have to stop what we are doing. If she is hungry, she eats. If she is tired, she sleeps. All while we are out and about LIVING LIFE!

I thought it would be a lot harder than it is. It did take a couple of tries to get the hang of and, to be honest, I didn't even give it a try until she was about 5 months old. But now I wish I had started sooner! Now that she is almost 10 months old we do it anywhere we are. Each carrier works a little differently but you can do it with any of them.

The Woven Wrap- This one is great if you are looking for a little more "privacy". Depending on how you have your LO wrapped the sides can completely cover and no one will even know what's going on in there. Not that I am promoting covering up...Oh no...I say feed feed feed anywhere and everywhere. However, I have had a couple of moments where I just felt more comfortable with a little more coverage. (like on the train with that creepy guy staring at me across the way)

The Mai Tie- As seen in the photo to your right. This one is pretty easy to just loosen the straps and drop her down low enough to be able to latch on. Then tighten back up so as you are moving around she can stay snugly latched on and not be disturbed by being bounced around.

The Soft Structured Carrier- Like the Boba, Ergo, Onya, Etc... These are great but I feel like they are not quite as easy and fast to adjust so "Little" can get her feed on. You have to adjust all of the buckles/straps which I'm sure if you use them a lot you get the hang of it pretty quickly. I'm still more of a wrap/mai tie kind of girl but now that "Little" is getting bigger I think I'm going to have to find one of these that works for me to help take some of the strain off of my shoulders/back.

Ring Sling-to be completely honest....I was never very good with this one. Personally, I feel like these are best for when your baby is much smaller. I would welcome any comments from mama's that love their ring-slings and breastfeed in them even as their "Little" gets bigger.

This is how good I've gotten at breast feeding while babywearing: sometimes at bed time I will nurse her in the mai tie, she will fall asleep, I will untie us and lay down in bed all with her still latched on and asleep. Then within a few minutes I can slowly remove myself from her and the bed and voila...down for the night!

Oh and you know I have to mention this:
Breast Feeding + Babywearing = Burning MORE calories = loosing more weight
Yeay!!!!