Should you really bounce back?

One minute you are 9 months pregnant, ready to pop and so exhausted you cannot even think straight. Next, you either pushed a baby out or had one surgically removed from you. Either way, you are exhausted, taking care of your own injury from giving birth and now you need to care for a little baby. This is terrifying and lets face it, A LOT of work. It is nothing short of a miracle when a women gives birth. It is strangely normalized because it is so common and the world is populated. However, it is miraculous. I get choked up thinking about what our bodies can do.

Did you know they say it can take two whole years for your body to completely heal and for you to "feel like yourself" again? Most doctors don't even recommend getting pregnant again until you've hit the two year mark. (No judgment from me if you don't wait) Aside from the two year mark, they give you a grace period after birth. The taboo 6 week mark. The first six weeks after having a baby you have your ONE AND ONLY check up with your gynecologist to check in on how everything is going. And America, we need to do better. This visit usually entails a depression screening- which they seemingly just throw away, a quick check at your female organs for the A-ok to start having sex and to start exercising.

Most of us at 6 weeks are like uhhh you really wanna put that in there... OR wtf i'm not picking up a dumbell, I do not even know what hour it is. However, there is this huge pressure from society to "bounce back". C'mon babe, its been 6 weeks, lets get that pre baby body back! And what is even more awful, people market to women who are in this fragile time in their life, and target that "mom pooch". Ladies, lets do a quick anatomy lesson, we all have a lil pooch! It's there to protect our reproductive organs. Before we are so quick to hate it and want to do anything to get rid of it, lets pause and respect it.

I do not want to bounce back and pretend my body never had a baby. Why? BECAUSE DAMNIT, I DID HAVE A BABY. And would it be so awful if you could tell? The comment "Wow, it doesn't even look like you had a baby" might sound like the right thing to say, however... what would you say if it did look like I had a baby? Our female body has grown a baby from....scratch.

Our babies are worth every stretch mark, every saggy boob, every bit of cellulite and every c section scar. They are like a road map, showcasing the most amazing miracle we have created, life itself. Instead of hiding them or trying every gimmick out there to get rid of them. Embrace them. Wear them with pride, they came from that beautiful 9 month journey (that might have felt like eternity).

And to everyone out there who have those things despite not having grown a baby, it is okay. Our bodies stretch and grow as time goes on. They are not meant to rid yourself of. Cellulite, stretch marks, saggy skin and excess skin are ALL NORMAL. What would happen if we all became realistic with ourselves? And noticed that things aren't always what they seem? Perhaps, we would all love ourselves a bit more, and maybe even learn to love the things we hate. Today, I appreciate my c section scar and my stretch marks. My body might not be the same as it was before, but it can't be the same, I've grown a life. A life I adore so much, so in turn I can learn to adore my body for what it has given me.

So, in a world that has normalized and salutes the "Dad bod" but ridicules the "Mom bod" be the outcast, embrace it. and hug those little ones tight.

Sincerely,

a mama, who has felt all of the pressure to bounce back, but decided there's nothing to bounce back from. Cheers!