Before we started having kids, I lost enough weight so that my wedding ring was loose on my finger. I was worried that it would fall off and annoyed that it kept spinning around to face the inside of my hand. At the same time, I figured that I would gain back some weight once I got pregnant, so I didn’t want to get it resized prematurely.
Enter the sizing balls.
These are little metal balls which are welded to the inside of a ring to “size” it without disturbing the original piece of jewelry. It looks a little unusual, but they are surprisingly comfortable.
Five years passed, and I wore my ring in-between and at the beginning of my pregnancies. Once my fingers swelled up, I would take a break until I was able to wear it again a few months after delivery.
But…Fiona just turned six months old and I still can’t get my ring on. I don’t know if it’s because I got more swollen or just the accumulation of pregnancies, but it is definitely doesn’t fit over my knuckle. So, do I keep waiting, in the off chance that my fingers will continue to shrink, or do I accept it, and get the sizing balls finallyremoved?
It seems like an easy decision, but spending the last five years having babies means that my body has been in a perpetual state of transition. My weight has fluctuated by 50 pounds up and down three different times, and my closet holds clothes in sizes 4 – 14, not including maternity clothes.
Frankly, I have no idea where my post-kid body is ultimately going to end up. I have been buying “tide-me-over” clothes for years…tide me over until I start wearing maternity pants, tide me over until I fit into regular clothes, tide me over until I stop nursing, tide me over until I get pregnant again…
Now that we are done having kids, I’m at a loss what to do. I have a too-small wedding ring and a closet of clothes that I don’t know what to do with. There are no instruction manuals for this…process…of coming to grips with a “new normal” body, complete with stubborn belly fat, chubby knuckles, and faded stretch marks. There are no pamphlets on how to shop for age-appropriate clothes that will last longer than 6 weeks.
When it comes down to it, I can’t wear my maternity hoodies and keep my wedding ring in my jewelry box forever. And well, it’s possible that my closet bar could collapse at any time, so I have to move forward, even in my uncertainty. I have to accept myself in this moment, not wishing for the pre-baby days or buying more “tide-me-over” clothes.
Sizing balls? Face it. You’re history.
— Post From My iPhone
I know exactly what you’re talking about. I have so many clothes in my closet right now because I am in the process of losing the baby weight. I am so eager to pare it down, but I can’t until this process is over. The one thing I have been doing is getting rid (ruthlessly) the clothes that have become too big. I don’t want any fall back clothes in my wardrobe any more, allowing me to gain weight and still have clothes to fit…
About the wedding ring, perhaps have the sizing ball removed for now and when your weight is at its final post-baby level, have the ring re-sized?
Erica…thanks for the advice. I have always just kept everything and I need to just start getting rid of stuff…and getting my ring fixed…instead of just waiting around…:)