Body By Baby

Many of us feel embarrassed of our post baby bodies. Some of us are surprised that we didn't snap right back to our pre-baby bodies. The truth is, no matter how fast you bounce back to your pre-pregnancy state, you will never be the same. Be it from stretch marks, wider hips, sagging breasts, or just a new state of mind about your body, you are now forever changed by the miracle that is childbirth.

So, because Gisele and all her friends make it seem like stretchmarks don't happen, I started Body by Baby. Stretchmarks do happen. So does saggy skin. And saggy boobs. And that is ok. Because we are real women. Our bodies aren't perfect. But they didn't get this way on their own. They got this way because we are fucking awesome and CREATED A HUMAN IN THEM. What's a stretchmark or a muffin top when we actually made life?

This is what a real woman's belly looks like. This is what having beautiful babies does to a girl. And it is awesome:

This is Brittany. She is the mom of a  6-month-old boy named Zealand.

Here is her story:

Before I got pregnant I was overweight (according to myself). I have always struggled with weight (mentally) and wasn't at my "best" when I got pregnant. A couple years ago I had gotten to a place where I thought I was "huge". I did lose enough weight to reduce that adjective before I got pregnant, but pregnancy brought it back. This was earth shattering in a positive way because yes, I was huge, but for a wonderfully glorious reason! All my preconceived notions about my body had to be altered. Huge was not gross or fat, it is simply an adjective use to compare oneself. Before being pregnant I WAS comparing myself (to whom? nobody that matters!). Being pregnant you compare yourself to your non-pregnant self. Which will ALWAYS be huge. After being pregnant? There is nothing to compare to! You have never had a baby before you have one so there is NOTHING to compare to! I am now a new me physically and emotionally and there is nothing to do but snuggle my little one and move forward.

 

I have lost ALL of my baby weight, yet I think I still look like I haven't lost any. And I am OK with that. In fact, I have never LOVED my body more than I do now! Even with stretch marks (that appeared during the last two weeks) and the pillow boobs (my delightfully perky 34Ds are now soft and droopy 38DDs) which don't fit into any of my shirts, not to mention the muffin top that will not fit into any of my pants. I already had stretch marks on random (read: all) body parts, but I had seen them as punishments for eating too much or not exercising enough. I have learned since that they are not filled with emotion, they do not come out on purpose to punish you, they are a physical response. During pregnancy my body HAD to stretch to fit the healthy beautiful baby boy and his food storage inside of me. I created a human AND his food. This is amazing. I am in awe of my body and will NEVER hate it or belittle it again. I WILL try to be as healthy as possible in order to house another human being one day and it doesn't really matter what size that house is.

Thanks, Brittany. You are the shit for sharing with us what we all hide from each other.

Body by Baby all started here, but you glorious bitches have kept it going. Feeling frisky? Send me your own Body by Baby portrait and I will share it with all six of my readers the world. Anonymously or not. Your choice. Email them to me at ilikebeerandbabies @ gmail . com (remove spaces).


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