Being pregnant, giving birth, breastfeeding – these were the most important things I have ever done with my body – by miles.
And much as there are times when I catch a glimpse of those faint silvery lines on my not-as-flat-as-it-once-was belly and briefly wish for my pre-baby body back – then I catch a glimpse of those two beautiful, perfect children my body has made and trust me – and suddenly, those lines are not important.
My body has done this incredible thing – and in a way, having seen what it is capable of, I love it more now.
I recently came across a beautiful Instagram post by US mum
Sandy Ballard, where she talks openly about her postpartum body after carrying and delivering three babies and what that means.
Here is Ballard's beautiful post in full:
"Nine months in, nine months out. Or something like that. This is postpartum (x3). This is mushy belly, jiggly booty, & bowling ball boobs because
#breastfeeding.
This body is pool ready. Is it skinny? No. Is it what it used to be? No. Did it bounce right back? No. But it’s a body & it’s at the pool. So it’s pool ready. It grew three giant babies. It stretched to capacity & stretched some more. It nourished two of those babies round the clock. It was cut in half twice. It could barely walk without help, but here it is still standing. I used to spend hours wishing away everything about how it looked. All the stretch marks & imperfections. I could name them off at the drop of a hat. I put things off until I lost the weight.
Then I realized I was missing out on their lives. These little people I love so much. I worked so hard to carry to term. I delivered them. I did it all for them. Then I wanted to sit out & cover it up & hide it. Why? Because society tells us we should be one way or have a beach body. Well after my third baby I finally realized I already have a beach body & full arms & a full heart. These kids are watching me & listening to how I talk about myself.
Postpartum is beautiful. For every scar & stretch mark & wiggly body part, there’s a woman desperate to have those lines, desperate to have given birth & here I am with not one but THREE healthy happy babies. Praise the Lord for that. Don’t waste time praying to be skinny cuz it ain’t gonna work, trust me. Spend time playing in the pool with your kids.
Spend time thanking Jesus for the miracle of motherhood. They won’t remember your lack of thigh gap, they will remember this moment when you had so much fun together. I am working hard to love the skin I’m in."
