"She was not quite three weeks old here. I've been working up the courage to share this photo for quite some time. Although I have posted one postpartum photo previously, it didn't include my face or even the reality of what my body looked like. I strategically posed. Wore my waistband carefully. Found the most flattering lighting. Avoided including my face where I see nothing but flaws. I was embarrassed even as I attempted to be boldly loving of my new body. THIS is what having a baby looks like, for me, and for many women. It's weight gain and swelling. Belly, face, chin, hands. Everywhere. It's irregularly-shaped leftover belly pooch. It's stretch marks halfway up my torso. And the real raw truth of it is, it's HARD to accept. This is not what I want to look like. But you know what? Squishy bellies are good for snuggling tiny bodies. Stretch marks are good for life lessons. Teaching our sons and daughters the beauty of imperfection when they're lost in a stormy sea of society's unobtainable standards. And what you can't see is what has changed the most: my heart. It's lying beside me now, snoring softy, and I couldn't imagine anything more perfect."

"The internet will make us believe that women give birth and instantly jump back into their old jeans. The truth is, this is what postpartum looks like for most women. This is 2 weeks postpartum- uterus contractions, swollen belly, and hyper pigmentation. You know what? You are still beautiful mama. One day, you’ll be able to fit in that black lace lingerie. But for now, just know that you are Wonder Woman. Don’t let anyone else make you feel any bit different"

"I wanted to do this partly for my own self-confidence, to help with acceptance of my scars and new life. Also, I wanted to bring some attention to post-natal disease and complications. Giving birth caused me to go into sudden liver failure, due to a rare pregnancy related disease. I had to have an emergency liver transplant and spent the first month of my daughter’s life in hospital in London away from her. My shape has changed since giving birth, my scar causes my stomach to be a little disfigured and I lost most of my muscles from being in the hospital bed so long. Sometimes my scar reminds me of the surgery and the difficult recovery I had in my daughter’s early months. However, it’s also a wonderful reminder of how generous other people can be, because without someone’s decision to donate organs I would not have survived to be here with my family now."

"The only post baby bodies I see on Instagram and the “perfect” ones.....the ones that have bounced back into wearing their crop tops and bikinis and their XS sized jeans 1 week post birth.
Raise your hands if you’re months or years postpartum and still wearing your maternity jeans or had to buy brand New Jeans because your old ones don’t fit Look I’m not saying anything bad about these perfect bodied mums. I mean good on them for bouncing back so quick. The body is amazing. A lot of it though has to do with their genes (seeming as we’re not meant to start doing full on exercise for at least 6-12 weeks pp & if you’re breastfeeding dieting can effect and depleted your milk supply).
But I can help but feel a little pang every time I see a Mum with a flawless body pop up in my feed. I know their not posting these pics to make any other Mums feel bad about their body- but I guess it’s just a normal reaction to have. And that brings me to this.....why don’t we see other “normal” Mum bodies on Instagram?!! Or other platforms?!! Is it because the world doesn’t want to see anything but perfection? So only those who have that image of perfection feel that can share their bodies?! Why do so many mums have PND? Or sadness and shame when it comes to their bodies?!!! Why??? Is it these flawless post baby bodies on Instagram?? Is it that no one shows feels they can show what is the truth for millions of mums out there??? I’m talking about the bodies with scars or red vivid lines from stretch marks, the ones with the loose over hanging skin, or the extra muffin tops?!! Where are these mums?!! I know if I saw a belly like this pop up in my feed I’d be pissed I couldn’t like it more then once!!! It would show me HEY I’m not alone!!! There’s other women out there like me YAY!!! It would show me that there isn’t “something wrong” with me because I don’t have a perfect body 1 week after giving birth! So you know what!!?? I’m doing it! I’m posting my real pp body here for the world to see! You guys know I’m not ashamed! How can I be, when my body’s given me the best gift in the world!"

"After 5 weeks, I still look 4 months pregnant and I’m still a bit sore from 2 ecv's and an emergency c-section. I have been eating well and will be starting physio soon once I get the all clear from the GP. Women are amazing and everyone recovers differrently from their unique delivery experience, what matters most is that cute little face that we get to call our own"

"This picture of my stomach went viral almost 3 years ago. I felt nervous yet empowered to share with the world a part of myself that I had hidden from lovers in my lifetime. I was finally allowing myself to exist as is and take up space. What a beautiful gift to be given"

"So many women have said to me, “You’re so small after having 5 kids!” And most of the time I just laugh it off and chalk it up to genetics. _ But what they don’t know is I would have GLADLY traded places with them and the “extra” baby weight they gained. You can always lose weight but all these stretch marks are permanent. _ I’ve cried rivers, purchased every cream, oil, & soap under the sun hoping to one day get rid of them. _ Learning to love me is a journey. A tough one especially when society labels you gross like you somehow how chose for your skin to literally tear forming permanent scars. _ Yesterday I received my waist beads in the mail I was excited. I’ve been working to Adorn the parts of me that I dislike the most. To provide them with the most love and care. I decided to share my excitement w/ someone and the response I received was not expected. “Not like you let people see your stomach anyways”. Immediate response was hurt and anger because clearly this is tough for me. I cried, then ran myself a bath, lit some candles and just sat there. After a few hours I made a decision: Embrace your flaws"

"This was taken just a few hours after giving birth. Real & Raw. Mesh panties, nipple shields & dark circles under my eyes. Oh, and AINT NO SNAPBACK. And I’m ok with that. This body birthed SIX kids. .Moms, we seriously need to give ourselves more credit... and grace! Snapping back is awesome, but so is allowing your body to take its time and heal how it wants to for as long as it needs to. There’s no deadline. In the meantime, be proud of all it’s accomplished: growing a whole human, then birthing that human, then nourishing and sustaining the life of that human with milk from that SAME damn BODY"

"How is this considered ugly? This is #Motherhood. My story, marked (literally) all over my abdomen. This is what two healthy babies and two miscarriages in 11 years looks like for me.
_
Each mark represents the #Strength my body used to create #Life. For every #StretchMark I encountered on my body was for every breath, every blink, every yawn, every smile. I longed for these scars.
_
I'm five months #postpartum. I'm surprised by how visible my #LineaNigra (#PregnancyLine) still is and my stomach that was stretched past its limits is about 10 shades darker than the rest of my body.
_
I may not have a flat tummy ever. But I'm not afraid to wear that old bikini to the beach this Summer. My lower baby fat and loose skin is hanging around. I've learned to love my #PostpartumBody and its journey.”

"First of all, I hate that this is focused towards the way we look. Exercising and being healthy during pregnancy are important for our baby’s and our health. Not just to have a certain body⠀ Second, it’s not a guarantee that our bodies won’t be affected. This was me at 38 weeks pregnant. I followed all the guidelines for a healthy pregnancy and still was left with a forever changed body. But if I could go back and tell something to my 25-year-old pregnant self would be this: “Make it a priority to find good prenatal physical training. You may think is not necessary but it is. From teaching you how to move with a heavy belly without putting so much pressure on your muscles, to teaching you how to breathe and push when the time comes. IT’S WORTH IT⠀Ask questions, and don’t take your OB/GYN answer as the last word. Unfortunately most are not trained to help you. At least the two I’ve had weren’t. A few stretch marks are normal, but if you get to a point where you can’t count them anymore, be prepared for a hard postpartum time. That’s a big sign that you are likely to have a severe diastasis and need help to have a strong body again I know you’re beyond excited to be a mom, but don’t forget about you. It’s ok to not buy one more unnecessary thing for your baby so you can pay someone to help you figure all this out Always remember to take care of yourself first so you can take the best care of your baby Last, you’re gorgeous and your body is amazing doesn’t matter how it looks” This is part of my story and as you can see I focused so much on my baby that I though it was selfish/ unnecessary to do something for me. The lack of information didn’t help either."

"When your breasts no longer feel the loving embrace of the tiny hands they once nourished, and all you can see is the stretch marks and “empty bags” that were once full and a lot perkier.
_
When the plastic surgeon targets the hashtag #newmom and follows you on Instagram because you shared a beautiful post with you and your brand new baby in the hospital- and you look at their feed and see the before/after “improvements” and #mommymakeovers they boast on their feed.
_
I dare you to reject the self doubts and seeds of self-hatred. I dare you to remember that every movie, TV show, Magazine and women’s product you see on the shelves is a carefully crafted message. A message that’s sole purpose is to make you feel inadequate in some way— designed to maximize profit at the cost of your confidence, and mental and emotional health. Messages that leave no emotional stone unturned.
_
Whether your body was the sacred vessel to another soul — or maybe you have never been pregnant. Whether you’re male, female, trans, etc.... I dare you to tell yourself that you are good enough. To re-connect with the sacredness of aging, and creating new life."

Words written by my husband:⁣
Hayley asked me to write something about her postpartum body.⁣⁣
I figured it’d be easy but then I started thinking- what’s there to write about?⁣⁣
Sure, things look and feel slightly different-but in the grand scheme of things, nothing changed.⁣⁣
⁣⁣The reasons I fell in love with her had nothing to do with any of the body parts affected by her postpartum.⁣⁣⁣⁣
She still has the same beautiful smile, determined mind, banging body, and strong work ethic as the girl I fell for over 15 years ago.⁣⁣
⁣⁣She still has the same sense of humor.⁣⁣
She still smells great and tastes great too.⁣⁣⁣⁣
Her postpartum body does look and feel slightly different, but why should that be a factor in MY life at all?⁣⁣
The soft, pillowy skin around her belly held my three best friends for 18 months.⁣⁣⁣⁣
The marks show the strength it took to carry the weight of two beautiful girls that will be raised by this bad ass mom.⁣⁣
Nothing has changed or altered my love for my wife.⁣⁣
I get praised for being “a great husband”, but that’s nonsense.⁣⁣
⁣⁣I’m literally doing the bare minimum by loving my wife for who she is, “imperfections” and all.⁣⁣
⁣⁣Imperfections make the world fun!⁣⁣
⁣⁣If everything was Barbie doll perfect, wouldn’t we get bored?⁣⁣
How else would we show what life has put us through?⁣⁣
⁣⁣So whether it’s regrettable tattoos, scars, surgeries, facial hair, or a postpartum tummy, honestly….who gives a shit?⁣⁣
⁣⁣Be good to each other.⁣⁣
Learn from mistakes- yours and others.⁣⁣
Help those in need and let’s stop dwelling on who looks like what.⁣⁣
⁣⁣My wife isn’t perfect and that’s what makes me love her.⁣⁣
⁣⁣That’s why you are all reading this.⁣⁣
⁣⁣IF she was perfect, not a one of you would be able to relate to her.⁣⁣
⁣⁣And to the husbands out there that don’t do their fair share of diaper duty, cooking, cleaning and telling your wife how beautiful she is—step up your game bro.⁣⁣
⁣⁣You’re a team.⁣⁣
⁣⁣So yeah, I was supposed to write about a belly, but honestly it affects me so little that I rambled about everything else.⁣

"This is me 7 days post birth, real, raw and vulnerable. I’ve always battled with self confidence and body image. My pregnancy with Lily I gained a lot of weight and it was a daily battle with the scales. This pregnancy was different I had already gained weight due to health issues and then I had surgery at 14 weeks. Recovery didn’t go as planned and I ended up having a hospital stay but I never once got on the scales. I know my body will never be as it was it’s homed and grown children. I will learn to love every imperfect bump scar and line because without them I wouldn’t have my beautiful family"

"Time will push you to your limits, faster than you want it to, aging you in ways that make you ache, slow down, grow tired and weak. Laugh. Walk. Eat. Drink. Dance. Garden. Skip. Make an effort and stop time. Stand beneath a rainshower, let yourself become completely drenched. Nap under a tree, when the rest of the world goes to work. Get on a bicycle and go for a cruise. Drink that wine or milkshake slower than you ever thought you could... savour each drop.
_
Babies will suck your energy up. Children will treat your body like a jungle gym, bruising your skin, and pulling your muscles. Jobs will have you sitting indoors for too long. Partners may take you for granted. Friends will be under the illusion that they are too busy for simpler times spent together. Musical instruments will sit in their cases, forgotten. Hair will go unwashed. First dates will be boring and waste your time. Lovers will rip your heart out and put you through emotional hell and back, leaving you gutted, insecure and distrusting. Labor and birth and early motherhood will be painful, hard and depleting; leaving you with a body you may not know so well, or feel so good about"

"I’m not going to share how little or how much weight I gain during pregnancy, I’m not going to talk about how slow or fast I get back to my pre-pregnancy weight, and I’m not going to reveal at what point I’m able to fit back into my pre-pregnancy jeans. Why?
.
Because weight gain alone is not a definitive marker of anything during pregnancy nor do I believe it to always be 100% in your control.
.
Because I don’t want to add to the pressure our culture puts on mothers to be/look a certain way during such an extreme transformation (whether intentional or not).
.
And most importantly, because I don’t want to reduce the beautiful miracle of creating, growing and birthing new life to a number on the scale.
.
Women are more than that... I AM MORE THAN THAT."

"This is my #PostartumBody. 10 weeks after the birth of my beautiful daughter by #cesarean. I've dropped almost 30lbs. I'm 5'2". Pre-pregnancy weight 146lbs, at birth 207lbs, now 181lbs. Being pregnant, you don't know what your body will be like after. You hope it'll be like all these women on IG that go immediately back to having a six pack. But, that's not {my} real life. If you got stretch marks, they don't disappear. If you were stretched to the max and gained some weight, everything doesn't magically go away. If you had a cesarean, it pushes you back even more. Ive had an incredibly hard time trying to accept these things. Looking in the mirror has not been easy. But when I really think about it, my body went to hell and back and its still standing. My daughter is amazing and I created every piece of her with this body. This IS normal!"

"Organs that made room for baby finding their way back to their original positions, creating the feeling of phantom kicks as if little feet were still inhabiting that space.
_
They are miraculous, yet forgotten as the being they housed has since moved out and become the center of attention "

"I used to weigh myself every morning.
I would always make sure to go to the bathroom first.
There would be a rush of anxiety as the scale blinked while I stared down in anticipation.
It was the moment that would depict how I approached my day.
Would I be positive and embrace the day happily because the number was a whole .1 lower than yesterday morning?
Or would I angrily start brushing my teeth and threaten myself to only eat a salad for today because the number was a whole .1 higher than yesterday?
This was how I lived.
It was destroying me.
And I was completely convinced that this was the only way to be happy.
This was the only way I would get to where I was supposed to be in order to become a mother.
I repeated to myself that the only way to be happy was to be skinny.
So I lost weight.
And it never felt like it was enough.
I worked out only to lose weight, rather than the way I do now where I focus more on how it makes me feel.
But then I had Maci.
For the first time, I felt thankful for my body.
There was a moment after she was born that I stood in the hospital bathroom just before I took my first postpartum shower.
I was only in my robe as I stared into the mirror.
I almost remember it in slow motion because I had avoided a mirror for years, even throughout most of my pregnancy.
Locking eyes with myself, I tugged the string and the robe separated a few inches.
I froze for a few seconds before I let the robe fall down to the ground.
And there I was.
I saw me for what felt like the very first time, but after another few seconds, I closed my eyes.
I turned around and walked towards the shower.
This moment was just the beginning of my self-love journey.
It doesn’t happen quickly. But it never would have happened had I not tried.”

"Someone recently said to me that I’d be able to get rid of my tummy pouch, I just wasn’t working hard enough, if I exercised more, and if I was stricter with what I ate I’d have a flat stomach again. Although it didn’t upset or affect the way I feel about my body, I believe it needs to be addressed nonetheless. _ My “tummy pooch” is a byproduct of three things- loose skin, an ab separation, and adhesions causing my scar to be pulled inwards (creating a dip.) It has nothing to do with my overall weight. _ LOTS of mothers wear marks from pregnancy and child birth and i’s a MISCONCEPTION that you can get rid of these marks through diet or exercise. You cannot starve your way to taut skin. Nor can you exercise away indented scars. Yes, you can work towards getting your stomach as flat as possible if that’s what you want, but these unrealistic expectations can be harmful. _ It’s ok to bare the marks of your pregnancy and birth proudly. The same as it’s ok to feel a little bit upset and like a stranger in your new body. It’s human. Learning to accept and love yourself as you are is a process- it’s ok if you’re not quite there yet. It’s also ok to work towards personal body goals, working out and eating healthily to sculpt your body in a particular way doesn’t mean that you have to hate the body you’re in now. On the contrary. It’s all about doing what makes you feel happy and accomplished. _ What is NEVER ok is someone telling you that you should work harder to attain an unachievable body image- so that you might fit THEIR expectations of what the female body should look like. That s**t needs to be shut down immediately. If someone can’t accept your postpartum body or encourages you to change any aspect of the way you look because they don’t feel comfortable with it- that is THEIR problem, THEIR issue that needs to be worked on. It ultimately stems from their own insecurities. _ Never allow someone to make you feel bad about your body and never apologise for your body. Your body created life! If that’s not something to be proud of, to be in absolute awe of, then I don’t know what is!"

"There’s a first time for everything and this is my first showing my mom body that I’m falling in love with all over again . Ya girl went from a stick to slim thick to well... idk but Im lovin it ! So there use to be posts on fb talking about “oatmeal cream pie stomachs” in reference to moms like me⁣. Moms who just had a baby that created these marvelous stretch marks and a bit of sag to the tummy. Now honestly I use to curse the person who posted it because how dare they talk about a woman after childbirth when we struggle with loving ourselves especially those who didn’t snap back like myself (God played me )⁣ But NOW I don’t give any f*cks about what people say because hey somebody is loving this body, that somebody is me and possibly someone else ⁣ This didn’t come easy because literally the first comment I heard a month after I had my baby is how black my stomach was. That sh** made me very insecure but I’ve reached a point where my tummy became lighter on its own and where I’m loving every feature while working on what I desire⁣ ⁣ Let people talk sh** because well they’re sh**ty Continue to build confidence in yourself because what matters most is your view, your opinion, your self love ⁣ ⁣ Your body is beautiful forever & always "

"I've never felt so good in my own skin before now. I have loose skin and stretch marks but this body grew and birthed a perfect human being that has changed my life forever. I'm so proud that it was able to do what it needed and was supposed to and these marks are every day reminders of that."

"Throwing it back to my most exhausted, anxious, overwhelmed self.⁠
⁠
Macie is days old in this picture, I was waking every hour to feed her an ounce of milk, my body felt bruised head to toe, my tummy felt empty & I felt sad. Really bloody sad⁠
⁠
I couldn’t believe that my little girl was born & I felt so sad ⁠
I kept wondering whether my body would ever go back, would I always suffer from this awful anxiety I was experiencing for the first time? Would Macie ever sleep longer or drink more than she was?⁠
How was I going survive on such little sleep? ⁠
⁠
In what felt like a lifetime went so quickly, every day things got better, I felt better, more confident, happier, less sore. Macie grew, drank more, slept longer ⁠
⁠
Remember when you struggle to see the end of a tough situation, it too shall pass. Stay positive "⁠
⁠
A beautiful message. It gets better. "

"Just before giving birth, at 45lbs over my pre-pregnancy weight, I was pretty concerned about how I may feel towards my body post-partum. I expected to feel ugly and too soft and desperate to lose weight and get back to myself. I expected to cry the first time I stepped foot into a dressing room. I expected to want to hide my body and keep covered up. Towards the end of being pregnant, however, I decided that no matter what I would not let negative feelings turn into actions that would keep me from enjoying this beautiful summer with my new family. To my surprise, I have spent the last 7 days feeling nothing but love and awe for my body and for all these rather yucky marks. During my drug-free labor (which featured 5.5 hours of pushing), I reached a point where I mentally quit. I completely gave up. As disappointed in myself as I am (but trying not to be) for that, I am almost grateful for the quitting. When my mind and spirit and will checked out, my body kept pushing, and finally brought me this little treasure I've been working on for 10 months. My body has stretched and torn and softened and hardened in all the right places, making room to house and then evict my beautiful, powerful girl. I am truly at more peace with this soft, torn up body than I ever was before it became so. Ive seen my body as more than decorative since sometime in high school when I chose to see it rather as the vessel through which my spirit experiences life, but now, it is even more. It is a vessel to experience, and now to create, life. It took every single little part of me to bring Camille to life, and so I am grateful for every part. Never again will I demote any element of my flesh to the purpose of "decorative." I will squish my belly, feel my stretch marks, smile at the extra flesh in my thighs/butt/arms/chest/back/hands (?!) and say to my body, "you have brought me life, and you are magic."