Body Image after having a baby

This is a really sensitive subject for so many women. For that reason, body image after having a baby isn’t talked about as much as it should be.

When a woman becomes pregnant, she doesn’t mind the changes her body goes through because at that point, the thought is that those changes are temporary. Not only that, but a baby is growing inside those tummies. Physical changes are the least of our concerns.

But after pregnancy, we become so self-conscious of our body image after having a baby. Mostly because of the pressure placed on mothers by social media or society’s beauty standards. Because of this, most times, we try to ignore our bodies. So much so that we sometimes ignore ourselves when we look at the mirror. That’s what I did. 

Before pregnancy, my eating habits were based on whatever was close by or sometimes whatever was easiest. Sometimes I wanted junk food-Okay let’s be honest, most times I wanted junk food-but I didn’t always get it. Other times, my food choice was healthier or simpler. I wasn’t the healthiest eater, but I still never overindulged. 

Before pregnancy, I loved my body. Although I wasn’t a vain person, I appreciated my hips and my big butt (the truth) and wished for bigger boobies. I was never the type to pay attention to ‘beauty standards’ either and so my weight of 138 pounds wasn’t a bother to me. The only thing I most times showed concern about, was my stomach area. But all in all, I was comfortable.  

When I got pregnant, obviously my stomach got bigger (hello, there was a baby growing inside me), but there were little changes that didn’t bother me all that much. Mostly because I thought about them as being temporary changes. My nose got a little wider and so did my smile. The stretch marks I already had got a bit darker. But again. I was fine with that.

After having my baby, that’s when I became conscious of the changes that were happening to my body. Initially, I wasn’t very concerned about them because I still considered them to be temporary. After a few months, I would’ve been back to my old self and old look. At least, that’s what I thought. 

Although my stomach reduced significantly, my waist was wider. Then I noticed that I was losing a lot of weight. I didn’t have the hips I had before or the big butt. 

It may seem frivolous to some and mean nothing to most, but these were big changes for me. Changes that I needed to accept.

I was accustomed to having that type of body. The broad hips, small waist and big butt. Those things were some things that gave me my confidence. And now, I don’t have them anymore. 

My face now occasionally has crazy breakouts, blackheads, the works. If you know me, you’d know that I was never one to have breakouts. My skin isn’t my skin anymore. 

The small breasts I once knew are no more. They are now a size bigger but they’re no longer as perky. Obviously, after over a year of nursing, they will never be the same again.

I don’t look and feel like me anymore. But I am trying to accept that. I am trying to accept the me that I am now. 

My husband has been a real confidence booster. Thank God for him. He still finds me hella gorgeous and sexy, so now it is just up to me to feel the same way about me.

One mom Instagrammer with the handle @saraaemiliee made a post about the struggles of body acceptance after a baby and why mothers should accept this new body. In her post, she wrote something that has stayed with me; “My body is powerful…my body is full of life. Because it made me a mother.” 

Why as mothers do we cause social media, or society in general to cause us to put so much pressure on ourselves? Why do we allow ourselves to believe that our bodies have ‘failed’ us even when we witness the miracle(s) that it has created?

I think it is time that us mothers start to not only accept our bodies for what they have become but to also be Proud of them because of what they have made us into. Mothers!

Comment down below your views and/or struggles with body image after a baby. If you wish to talk on a more personal level, contact me through Telegram Messenger, Instagram or Email.