The Weight of Parenting
Weight. Let that word sink in. Now, as a society we're obsessed with it. How much did you lose? How much do you weigh? How many cm is your waist line? What is your goal weight? We are bombarded with this issue centring on weight. As a woman, you have to be living under a rock not to notice. Two weeks after giving birth I stood in front of a full length mirror with my shirt hiked up, looking at my mid-riff and wondering when and if I would get my pre-baby body back. But then the word weight took a very different turn in my motherhood journey. Was my newborn gaining enough weight? We breastfed (and are still breastfeeding) and my son was a month prem, so weight gain became a topical issue. Looking back to those first crazy 6 weeks of dealing with a newborn, I tried to enjoy my little bundle of joy. I tried to settled in. I tried to find my stride. But the underlying issue was ALWAYS weight gain. We went for weigh-in's religiously. I expressed milk to make sure ...