A Postpartum mommy's body- the real story

I am in awe of the all the beautiful women who are fortunate enough to have bodies that shrink back and tighten right up after giving birth. You see stories all the time that show celebrities whose stomach's and bodies look better after giving birth than they did before. I feel like there is this expectation that you will immediately look like you did before your body became a home to a baby for nine months.

For the rest of us...it doesn't always happen that way. Even those women who lose their baby weight usually find that their hips never quite snap back and even those flat tummies can have stretch marks and saggyness.

Perhaps some mommies can relate to my story and if my honesty helps even one woman whose body has never been the same, then it's worth the transparency.


Let me start by saying that I do not regret my pregnancies and I would do it all again and again for my beautiful girls. But let's be honest about mentally and emotionally handling the postpartum body.

I gained a ton of weight in my first pregnancy, which is all my fault. I never lost any of it after birth, which was also due to my lack of effort and diligence. I wasn't a huge fan of bare belly photos when I had maternity photos done with my first child because my stomach resembled a road map to nowhere specific.

photo by Courtney Sargent Photography UNEDITED

After birth I was left with the stretch marks AND saggy, puckered, droopy skin that hung like I had a mangled beer belly (how's that for honest). After a couple months it tightened up a little but even now (and after a second child) my stomach looks nothing like a stomach at all and is just a lumpy accumulation of what housed something so precious.

Some mom friends have shared how they went through similar experiences where not only did their stomachs not return to their original shape but after nursing, neither did their...you know what (I won't be sharing any photos like that of course).

Here's the reality...those stretch marks, while now white and faded, will never go away, my bladder control will never return to normal, I may never fit into my size 8 skinny jeans (yes I actually owned a pair). I read something so precious and have to share it for your encouragement as well:

Megan Garrison Photography

So there it is, the pregnancy and post-pregnancy body isn't always glamorous but it is what it is and it's amazing that our bodies can do it at all.