Congratulations! Your baby is born and you are transitioning into the life of a new mom. Between middle of the night feedings, tons of laundry, and periods of exhaustion, you may wonder how you will have time to get rid of your pregnancy weight.

It Takes Time

You did not gain your baby weight in one month, so don't expect to get rid of it that quick either. Make sure to set realistic goals so you don't set yourself up for failure. Doctors say a realistic goal is to get back to your pre-pregnancy weight within 9 months, the same amount of time it took to put on the weight.

One tip: stay away from celebrity news during this time. Because you are focused on your baby and your weight loss, you will see tons of pictures and articles about celebrities who got back in shape in a matter of weeks or months after having their baby. Do not fall into the trap of thinking you should too. Remember, they have a LOT more helpers than you do and they are PAID based on how their bodies look. You would be in top post baby shape too if you had your own chef, laundry service, housekeeper, nanny, and personal trainer. Be realistic in your thoughts and goals.

Develop a Routine

You know how important it is to get your baby into a routine. This gives them the predictability of when to eat, when to play and when to sleep. Don't fall into the trap where the baby's routine is your routine. Make sure you build into your baby's routine time for your weight loss plan.

Does that sound impossible? It's not. One of the hardest things for me was getting a shower. As a new mom, I was afraid my daughter would wake from her nap while I was soaking wet. I learned that if I put her in her baby carrier (ie. car seat) around nap time she would sleep peacefully on the floor of my bathroom while I showered. The sound of the water was soothing to her and made it an enjoyable experience for both of us.

Just as I learned to build shower time into the baby routine, I also learned to build exercise into the routine. My preferred method was walking since it was easiest on my post c-section body. So, I took my daughter outside each afternoon and we took a walk. She loved to look around and often fell asleep in the stroller. Mentally, this time was an essential break each day and renewed my spirit. And the exercise increased my metabolism, helping my body to shed my baby weight.

Slow and Steady Weight Loss is Healthiest

Most women gain 30-50 pounds during pregnancy and lose 10 pounds immediately upon giving birth. The remaining 20+ pounds will go much more slowly. If you are breastfeeding, you can expect to lose another 10 pounds in the next 2 or 3 months just from the metabolism boost you receive from milk production. However, that too will subside. And most women are left with 10+ extra pounds to lose, and those can be the hardest.

There are some steps you can take to naturally increase your metabolism, which will help you get past this weight loss plateau and back on the road to post pregnancy weight loss. You will also need to eat right and sleep as much as possible in order for your body to release those extra pounds. If you have difficulty finding time to sleep, have friends or relatives come over periodically to take care of the baby while you nap for a few hours.

Build your routine to include healthy meals, light exercise and other steps to increase your metabolism, and get as much sleep as you can. These three things together will lead to slow and steady weight loss.