Baby girl and I are living parallel lives. Every Tuesday, I take her to be weighed at what I think of as anti-Weight Watchers at the mother and baby clinic. With bated breath and anxious frown, I wait to see if my pride and joy has put on a few ounces. Last week she'd put on nine. I nearly wept with relief.
Every Tuesday, with bated breath and anxious frown, I also weigh myself. Last week I nearly wept with frustration to see that only 2lbs had come off in four weeks, despite the daily walks, sit-ups and being awake for so many hours that sleep seems like a distant holiday I once went on. At bath time, husband proudly patted his daughter's rounding tummy, declaring: "How cute, look at her fat little bottom and chubby thighs!" As he patted my fat little bottom and chubby thighs, he discreetly inquired: "You off to see Mel this week?" By Mel, he means my personal trainer, Melinda Nicci, and by "this week" he means: "Am I sticking to my twice-weekly workouts?"
As it happens, I have (so far). The first was spent bemoaning my breast-feeding shoulders that have rendered me almost incapable of standing up straight. In spite of having the strength of a kitten, Mel insists that, after the usual half-hour step aerobic warm-up, we do resistance work, alternating between using bands and holding hand weights (agony, as the muslin cloth I lift to baby's mouth seems to weigh a ton). Cursed my way through as I willed my bingo wings to take flight.
Second workout of the week was spent exclusively on abdominals; half sit-ups, mini-crunches and Pilates-based core work. And thank goodness. On Tuesday I was asked to present the very deserving Sarah Brown with an award for charity work for Women's Aid. I figured 10 weeks into motherhood that I was allowed a night out. I did manage to squeeze into my old, size 12, Prada party dress. So something must be working. I could barely breathe. But, hey, that's fashion all over. I looked at other women struggling for oxygen in skin-tight dresses and realised this was one complaint I couldn't put down to motherhood.
