I can not believe that I have accidentally found this wonderful website – a breath of fresh air!! Thank you so much for dispelling the myth that we all go straight back to our post baby bodies, it is such a relief to see that others know this fact and accept it. Why should we go back to that body anyway, we are different, more important people; we are mothers!!
I had my first child when I was 23, and I did not have too much trouble losing the 23 kg I put on during that pregnancy. I was lucky, only a few stretch marks on my breasts. However with my second child, while I put on less weight, I had a bigger baby, I got heaps of stretch marks, and a lovely saggy tummy that just won’t budge.
I see pictures in magazines of celebrities who lose all their weight in like 4 weeks, and have wonderful flat stomachs – it just makes me feel horrid. I always though that women (and their partners) need to know the truth; if you can be prepared for the complete transformation that you go through, I’m certain that we would be able to accept and possible even love, our post-baby bodies.
First pregnancy, 40 weeks. 38 weeks pregnant with Luci, my second child, born via c-section then following morning weighing 8lb 7oz.
Celebrities are famous because they are unusual–talented, beautiful, gifted, etc. They have drivers, nannies, cooks, housekeepers, etc, so they can devote hours to maintaining the illusion the media has created of them. Those women are NOT the norm, otherwise we wouldn’t be so ga-ga over them. WE are the norm! Your bellies look beautiful!
Unlike TracyKM, I don’t think celebrities are the real problem. For some odd reason, the women friends closest to me have all been genetically blessed with those bounce-back bodies, no stretch marks, unbelievely flat 6pack abs. If it were ONLY celebrities, it’d be easier. One of these friends saw my stretchmarks while still pregnant and said in awe “I’ve never seen anything like that”. The bottom line is genetics. I pray that you and I and everyone here learns acceptance.
I brought up celebrities only because that’s what the writer mentioned. Of course, there are other women blessed like that….but really, if a model had a pregnancy, or post partum period like MOST women, she wouldn’t be a model for long.
But we’re not celebrities. We’re real women. No Photoshop required! :) You look gorgeous! Wow! What a beautiful pregnant belly! I’m so jealous!