I was poking through some old (old!) issues of Mothering Magazine today when I found two articles you need to read.
The first I will also link from Save Our Daughters because it fits right in over there and is all about how to teach your children to be tolerant of people of all shapes and sizes. It’s a beautiful and necessary read.
The second mirrors the goal of this website in general, which is, of course, to learn to love your new mama body. It’s a stunning look at the way we are prepared to view ourselves once we birth a child, and then the author’s own feelings about her postpartum body.
I hope you enjoy them, and I hope you pass them both on to every mother you know.
WONDERFUL! WONDERFUL! WONDERFUL! I have two boys and I want them to grow up and fall in love with the heart of a woman, not the body. When I was 9 months pregnant my mother-in-law told me not to eat so much because I would get too fat. After my son was born it took 6 months to get back into my clothes and 6 months for my husband to display any interest in me sexually. I honestly thought I was done having kids after just one because I didn’t want to deal the same rejection while carrying the extra weight.
He (hubby) was much better the second time around and reassured me I was beautiful everyday before and after delivery. Guess what…I think I want more kids.
Hi! I’ve been trying to e-mail you this link, but for some reason clicking on the contact me link doesn’t work, and because I don’t have microsoft access clicking on the e-mail me links doesn’t work.
Anyway, I found this website on Stumbleupon, and even though it’s in German it shows really great examples of how women look before and after makeup and retouching. It has the photos side-by-side and very large before pictures too, so it’s easy to tell what the women really look like underneath all the makeup.
https://www.danamai.de/vorhernachher.html
To Those That It May concern,
First and Foremost:
I have to say this site is an amazing place for those in need of a good old fashion bump in the confidence department, so to speak.
Second and Just As Important:
I have to say this site may have been the cure my girlfriends almost endless self hatred for her motherly body, which I can’t take my eyes off of.
Third and Must Be Said:
I am a 25 year old man, and a stay at home father.
I have been regarded as many disgusting things for being such a man to raise a child.
Things including a homosexual, a pedophile and even willingly destroying my daughter’s life!
I am nevertheless a Father, A Husband, and a Man!
The Start:
When I look at my daughter (6 years old) I almost want to scream in joy. Every time she learns something new, when she fails only to rise above and try again, every time she looks at me and smiles and says how much she loves me, I want to burst into a fit of tears and joy!
The amount of emotion is endless and fulfilling in all ways!
But alas I must digress,
As my point is not how happy I am.
It is how horribly offended and upset I get every time I turn on the television,
listen to the radio, read a magazine and all I can see is
Try this to be that, and do this to have that and then I look to my left to see my daughter.
Engrossed in these superficial, over zealous, insecure lies being unfiltered into my daughter’s conscious and unconscious memories. Only furthering the idea that she is not beautiful unless she nearly kills herself trying to achieve only what my Photoshop 07 can achieve and even barely then can it amount to what the industries out there spoon feed us as humans of the consumer community must have to amount to anything other then the ugly worthless shell of the person we once were when we were sexy and young.
Both men and women!
In this rant what I am trying to say is websites like this and others I have read and seen are a charity of self worth and the human spirit at its finest. Please keep up the good work. It hasn’t gone unseen.
Have a good life and may it always be in your heart to see the truth
and not the social programming we have all endured for far too long!
So I end this with a few more words.
Never Forget The Most Important Things,
Your life, your love, your family
and above all your sense of self worth.
How Can you Love Your Family,
If you Can’t Love Yourself!
Know It! Have It! Live It! Love It!
From the man and father I am
To the people and readers you are
J.D.
MM & BB
P.S. Thank you for the articles.
They were amazing and healpful in there own rite.