"Your body isn't ruined. You are a tigress who has earned her stripes." - Unknown
Beauty after birth.
The above quote is so inspirational to me. It is so easy after birth to look down and to truly not be happy with what you see. I am praying that this post will inspire you to rock the crap out of your stripes. Love your body girl!
Lets face it, every mom is concerned with how they are going to look after gaining weight, getting stretch marks, swollen feet, and my worst enemy... The SWOLLEN nose. It can be especially hard watching celebrities that we love, or love to hate sporting their 2 week post birth 120 pound bodies.
I will keep it "a buck fifty." Although my bounce back was always a concern, it did not stop me from eating my ice cream, cookies, fried foods, and my occasional Pepsi. Now for all you healthy mommies and daddies out there, pick your jaw up off of the floor, its ok. I commend you for fighting the urge to binge (daddies have pregnancy binges too) but as for me, I had little to no self control (only when my healthy husband wasn't around, which was hardly ever.)
Before I was pregnant I weighed a whopping 170. Now that may not mean anything to you, but for a girl who weighted 120-125 for most of her life this was a little heartbreaking. By the end of my pregnancy I was 220 pounds!!
A little side not that makes me feel better about the situation... I was filled with water weight. When I was three months pregnant, I looked about five, and by the time I was five months people were asking if I had passed my due date! Eventually I started saying "Yes, yes I have" even though I had 4 months left.
Although I gained weight quickly, I took pride in showing off my stomach which at the time had zero stretch marks! The pregnancy God's had blessed me (so I thought) and I was going to return to my stretch mark free body when my pregnancy was over.
Sike.
So lets fast forward to the end of my pregnancy. Not only was I an African American Miss Piggy, but stretch marks found their way to the middle of my stomach. They even had the nerve to make a design around and under my belly button. Disrespectful!!
I was devastated. I pretended that it didn't bother me but all I could think about was how bad my stretch marks would look after I had Jax, and how I could never wear a bikini because of them. I worried and worried myself dry about the weight that I had gained. What would people think of me after I had the baby and had no "excuse" to be fat?
Well I can honestly and proudly to say that after pushing out a watermelon from a hole the size of a quarter, those shallow thoughts no longer concern me. Don't get me wrong it is great to want to get back in shape after having a baby, but the worrying and feeling ashamed, oh no mama that has to go.
Instead we should be holding our heads high and strutting our stuff after birth! I mean hello, do you understand what your body just did? Ladies we (and for you future moms) GREW a human inside of us,
We went through war with nausea, weight gain, being uncomfortable, the list goes on, and on, but we came out victorious! (insert fake audience applause here.)
So why is it that we are ashamed of the results of this war?
Whatever your reasons may be, today we are kicking them to the curve!
When I look at my stretch marks now, I feel empowered. I feel tough. I have earned my stripes, and bragging rights. And so have you!
Listen, having a baby is a full time job. Do not push yourself to hit the gym to satisfy others, and to fit what society says is beautiful! Allow yourself time to heal. Enjoy your baby. Look in the mirror and find beauty in yourself. Admire the fact that whether you had a c-section, a natural birth, or a hospital birth, you are a warrior.
When you feel up to working out, do it for you.
SO ladies lets get in formation, and tell the world that what they consider fat, is actually your resilient bodies extra skin that protected your baby. And those stretch marks that may be considered ugly to others are our reminder that we did the damn thang!
Yes, at the end of the day this was a power rant, but I look forward to rocking my stripes on the beach next year with all of you. See you there hot mamas.
xxx,
Jo
The above quote is so inspirational to me. It is so easy after birth to look down and to truly not be happy with what you see. I am praying that this post will inspire you to rock the crap out of your stripes. Love your body girl!
Lets face it, every mom is concerned with how they are going to look after gaining weight, getting stretch marks, swollen feet, and my worst enemy... The SWOLLEN nose. It can be especially hard watching celebrities that we love, or love to hate sporting their 2 week post birth 120 pound bodies.
I will keep it "a buck fifty." Although my bounce back was always a concern, it did not stop me from eating my ice cream, cookies, fried foods, and my occasional Pepsi. Now for all you healthy mommies and daddies out there, pick your jaw up off of the floor, its ok. I commend you for fighting the urge to binge (daddies have pregnancy binges too) but as for me, I had little to no self control (only when my healthy husband wasn't around, which was hardly ever.)
Before I was pregnant I weighed a whopping 170. Now that may not mean anything to you, but for a girl who weighted 120-125 for most of her life this was a little heartbreaking. By the end of my pregnancy I was 220 pounds!!
A little side not that makes me feel better about the situation... I was filled with water weight. When I was three months pregnant, I looked about five, and by the time I was five months people were asking if I had passed my due date! Eventually I started saying "Yes, yes I have" even though I had 4 months left.
Although I gained weight quickly, I took pride in showing off my stomach which at the time had zero stretch marks! The pregnancy God's had blessed me (so I thought) and I was going to return to my stretch mark free body when my pregnancy was over.
Sike.
So lets fast forward to the end of my pregnancy. Not only was I an African American Miss Piggy, but stretch marks found their way to the middle of my stomach. They even had the nerve to make a design around and under my belly button. Disrespectful!!
I was devastated. I pretended that it didn't bother me but all I could think about was how bad my stretch marks would look after I had Jax, and how I could never wear a bikini because of them. I worried and worried myself dry about the weight that I had gained. What would people think of me after I had the baby and had no "excuse" to be fat?
Well I can honestly and proudly to say that after pushing out a watermelon from a hole the size of a quarter, those shallow thoughts no longer concern me. Don't get me wrong it is great to want to get back in shape after having a baby, but the worrying and feeling ashamed, oh no mama that has to go.
Instead we should be holding our heads high and strutting our stuff after birth! I mean hello, do you understand what your body just did? Ladies we (and for you future moms) GREW a human inside of us,
We went through war with nausea, weight gain, being uncomfortable, the list goes on, and on, but we came out victorious! (insert fake audience applause here.)
So why is it that we are ashamed of the results of this war?
Whatever your reasons may be, today we are kicking them to the curve!
When I look at my stretch marks now, I feel empowered. I feel tough. I have earned my stripes, and bragging rights. And so have you!
Listen, having a baby is a full time job. Do not push yourself to hit the gym to satisfy others, and to fit what society says is beautiful! Allow yourself time to heal. Enjoy your baby. Look in the mirror and find beauty in yourself. Admire the fact that whether you had a c-section, a natural birth, or a hospital birth, you are a warrior.
When you feel up to working out, do it for you.
SO ladies lets get in formation, and tell the world that what they consider fat, is actually your resilient bodies extra skin that protected your baby. And those stretch marks that may be considered ugly to others are our reminder that we did the damn thang!
Yes, at the end of the day this was a power rant, but I look forward to rocking my stripes on the beach next year with all of you. See you there hot mamas.
xxx,
Jo
Thank you for this wonderful post! For me, it's been the weight gain and sagging breasts (I breast fed two children for a total of 5.5 years, combined). I was proud of nursing, but not of the end result... It's been 14.5 years since I finished nursing my last child and I have gained over 70 lbs since I gave birth 16.5 years ago. ZI still struggle between the weight or the sagging breasts (if I keep the weight, the boobs don't sag; if I lose the weight...). I have just, in the last 6 months, begun to accept my body as it is and as it will be (as I work out). Your words are encouraging! Thank you, love! You're awesome!
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