My postpartum body! Oh, my!


No one and I repeat no one can prepare you for the reality of what your body is like after having a baby.  Therefore, I can only speak to what I have gone through postpartum after having my daughter and the trials and tribulations I experience on a daily basis to come to terms with what I look like now - the good and the bad! I devote this page to the road I am taking to re-find myself...what ever that may look like in the months and years to come. 

Monday, April 11, 2011

When I was a few weeks away from my due date and my tummy had suddenly gotten huge I discovered the website  The Shape of  a Mother and it has given me a lot of hope and comfort. If you are a mom or someone who is just curious about what a real women looks like after giving birth check it out.  It is reality unlike all  the celebrity mom's we see on TV and in the magazines that "bounce back" in a few weeks.  I have not found the courage to post my own picture on the website but I hope someday I will.  For now I will celebrate all the moms who have found the strength and are leading the way to show the world what a women's body really looks like.  Thank you for inspiring me everyday! 

Sunday, April 17, 2011

I recently had a conversation with another mother about stretch marks and our varying views on the them.  Yep..stretch marks.  Those unsightly things that 80% of women get after pregnancy.  I tried everything to prevent getting them but in the end I got them on both sides of my stomach.  Deep sigh... I guess I lost the genetic lottery on this one.  I tend to call them my "war wounds."  I see them as a remembrance of the battle I went through to get my daughter.  For those of you who don't know, my pregnancy and delivery was extremely challenging.  In contrast, my friend saw her stretch marks as a badge of honor - a remembrance to the wonders of childbirth and what her body can do. 

This got me thinking, if my pregnancy had been a more pleasant experience would I see my stretch marks differently? Possibly. But I think I still would do everything in my power to get rid of them.  Now I am not so vain that I cant see my stretch marks as a small price to pay for my daughter.  I would take my daughter over having no stretch marks any day.  No contest. 

If you think about it though, isn't a stretch mark just a scar and cant a scar be a bage of honor.  I dont see why not.  I am sure a soilder sees a scar from battle as a badge of honor.  And dont we joke with people that have scars they should say they got it from a bar fight because a bar fight is "cool."  Scars can remind us of things we survived and how strong and brave we are.  They are a link to our past and who we have become. 

Granted I don't love my stretch marks and I wish I didn't have them but I am starting to be okay with them. I am starting to be at peace with them.  They are a consant reminder of the struggles I went through and how brave and strong I am!  

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