Let’s talk postpartum bodies for a minute.
As a mother, we feel the pressure to be the best. We need to raise the smartest kids, be the most involved, sign them up for everything and then volunteer, work a full time job but never ever miss a kid event, and worst of all (in my opinion), “bounce back” after having a baby.
I’ve always hated this phrase. After growing an entire human in my body for 40 weeks, I’m expected to be bopping around in the exact same body as I was before baby. Let me tell you this; that’s not the way it works.
A woman’s body is an incredible thing. We can take two tiny ingredients and turn them into a person. A living, breathing, thinking, adorable person.
Everything changes. Not just your skin or your hips or your belly. But your heart. Your heart is what changes most. It’s no longer about you. This little person you made is the center of your universe and I think the last thing a woman needs to concern herself with is all the jiggly bits.
Here’s what happens when you have a 10 pound baby via c-section: your skin stretches as your belly grows so much that it starts to split. Then, there’s all the pressure so you get more stretch marks on your inner thighs. Your hips widen. Your boobs obviously get enormous. Basically, everything is supersized. And then, in a matter of many grueling hours, your body deflates.
And now you get to sport these gorgeous shiny pink stripes and a gnarly scar on your belly. But you know what else you get? The love of your life.
So the next time you’re squeezing yourself into some Spanx or shaming yourself for eating that donut or cookie or piece of cake, remember what you did it all for. I can promise you that little love of your life doesn’t care about your squishy belly. So why the hell should you?
Warming Up 