Me at 7 Weeks Postpartum

So, I mentioned in my post about the first two weeks with Baby C that I hurt my neck at some point during labor and delivery.  It was difficult for me to stand up, sit up, and sometimes even hold Baby C for the first 8 days. Holding my camera to take pictures was really hard, which made me really sad. But, after 8 days, my neck pain went away completely. It was pretty much overnight that it got better. Because of the neck pain, I felt like my recovery was a lot slower than after Miss A and Little J were born, and that was really hard for me. Thankfully it was only 8 days. Everything else has seemed to heal pretty well, and besides getting a little less sleep than normal, I'm back to feeling pretty much like myself.

Around the 4 week mark I started getting really anxious to be active again. I tried a couple of workouts on our elliptical to see how I would feel, and then at 5 weeks postpartum I went on my first run.  It was really tough. I ended up running a super slow 2 miles.  When I got home I told E that my lungs hurt the most, but the next day wow were my legs sore. I went out again a couple days later and managed to do the same 2 mile route a little bit faster. Yay!

Now that I'm a little past the 7 week mark, I thought I would set some goals for myself, and share them here to hold myself accountable. With 3 little ones running around it's easy for me to find reasons to skip out on workouts, but also really important for my mental health to stay active.

I'm currently about 10 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight. I was able to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight by 6 weeks with Miss A and 6 months with Little J, and I'd like to get back there again. I'm trying not to put a lot of pressure on myself to be at a certain weight right now, but I would like to get things more toned up, and have my clothes fit better. For now I'm not planning to restrict what I'm eating (besides maybe cutting back on the sugary treats), so my focus is really on activity.
So, my goals are to do 3-4 cardio workouts each week, and 1-2 weight workouts. I'd like to run as much as possible this fall, because I know that winter is on the way and I'll be stuck on the elliptical for many months. I look at our schedule for the week, and try to plan which days will be the best to run. I have met my cardio goal the past two weeks, with 3 runs each week, but I haven't done any weight workouts yet. I'll check back again in a few weeks to share my progress. I'm planning to treat myself to Stitch Fix if I consistently meet my goals.

Does anyone have good tips for staying motivated?