If Loving My Postpartum Body is Wrong, Then I Don’t Want To Be Right

Loving My Postpartum Body

That’s right; your eyes aren’t deceiving you. I just had a baby, and I don’t hate my postpartum body.

I’m also not one of those women who popped out a baby and snapped back into my pre-pregnancy jeans like it was no big deal. Newsflash…it is a big deal! There are so many crazy things happening during and after pregnancy that make it a big deal. We’re talking HUGE emotional, physical, and mental changes happening all at once, and while immediately losing the baby weight is priority number one for some women, it just isn’t for me.

Don’t get me wrong. I couldn’t wait to be cleared for exercise, and I’m definitely trying to make healthy eating choices as often as possible. These things make me feel good and will eventually make me look good. But I don’t wake up every morning wishing I had someone else’s body. I love my body. I love the life that it created and the ability it gives me to accomplish things each and every day. I have working legs and arms that help me work and care for my family. I have a few extra pounds around my stomach and hips these days, but they will only be there for a season. And that’s okay. I’m so thankful that my body had the ability to grow two tiny humans, and I would never trade my precious babies for a few less pounds on the scale.

My main focus right now is raising my two daughters to love themselves for more than just their physical appearance, and I can’t do that if all I’m focused on is my own appearance. I have to be the example for them because we are living in a world that shoves perfectionism down our throats. Even some of my closest friends contacted me almost immediately after my youngest was born to ask if I wanted their help with losing the baby weight. I couldn’t believe it.

When did it become normal to directly ask friends and family if they wanted to lose weight just moments after their children were born? It seems that along with the latest rise in direct sales, people have also forgotten their manners, and more often than not, it has left me a little offended and has caused me to question my friendships. Hopefully I can do my part to reverse this trend and teach my daughters to be confident and accepting of themselves, and hopefully our world starts focusing a little less on outward appearance and a little more on building each other up in a world where tearing each other down has become the norm.

What about you? Are you a new mommy focusing on loving yourself instead of putting yourself down? I’d love to hear what you do to practice acceptance in this time of constant change.

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Mandy B
Mandy is a former Army brat born and raised in the great state of Texas. She has an undergraduate degree in Business Management and a Master’s degree in Business Finance from Texas Tech University; she currently works as a Tax Accountant in Downtown Houston. In 2005 Mandy met her husband Travis while visiting her parents in Virginia. He took her breath away and followed her back to Texas as quickly as he could. Travis and Mandy shared seven adventurous years of married life before bringing their daughters into the world, Amelia {July 2013} and Evelyn {Sept 2015}. Mandy loves Jesus, country music, Instagram, the sunshine and all things water -- the beach is her happy place. She writes about her experiences as a working wife and mother at Letters to Amelia. Follow along in Mandy's daily life on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

1 COMMENT

  1. Such great words Mandy… For everyone! Not just moms! And so true… We need to teach kids while they are young that perfection does not equal beauty… And that skinny does not equal beauty… And that there isn’t just one kind of beauty… When your heart is beautiful… You radiate beauty! 🙂 and when your heart is ugly… No amount of beauty on the outside will make you beautiful. 🙂

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