8 ways to love your amazing body after baby
Sometimes it is hard to accept your changed body after having a baby. In this blog I share some encouragement and practical tips on how to be kind to yourself and on learning to love your truly amazing body after having a baby.
Body changes are hard, even after a baby
Our body just grew a human being, it is amazing and we should be truly thankful for it. But it isn’t quite as easy right? Even if you love your baby and you are so thankful that you were able to grow it you can struggle to love your body after having a baby. It is hard to get to a place where you look into the mirror again with confidence and gratefulness. So read along and hear me out because you deserve it to be kind to your postpartum body.
Don’t compare yourself to social media
We all know those women with no single stretch mark that fit into their pre-pregnancy clothes and are back in the gym six weeks postpartum. If you are reading this blog this is probably not you and neither was it me.
During my pregnancy I gained quite some more weight than recommended for my weight class. I got stretch marks all over my belly, back, hips, boobs, butt and legs. My husband called me lovingly his little tiger. And even if everyone said that I gained weight through my baby, water, additional blood, the placenta and all those things I always knew that many kilos were fat and would stick even after birth. And even though I knew that my husband found me beautiful and I knew that my body did something truly amazing: I really struggled to love my body after having a baby.
I compared myself to so many different people: women on social media, friends and family members who had a baby and maybe even worst to my pre-pregnancy self. If this is you, ask yourself the following two questions:
- Would you really like to change your life with the life of those people?
- Are the standards you are comparing yourself to realistic?
If the answers are ‘no’ the comparison is not worth the while. Try to avoid looking on pictures or videos that are triggering to you. Be open about your struggles with your spouse or close friends or family in order to receive their encouragement.
What about stretch marks
Stretch marks are no medical but rather a cosmetic problem. Or in other words: they don’t look pretty but are not dangerous. To this day researchers don’t know where stretch marks exactly come from. Obviously they are a result of stretching skin but why some people have them and others not is not clear. It might come from your genes which means you cannot really do something about it. Many women oil their bellies in the hope that it will help but there is little evidence that it actually works.
For me that helped already a lot. Knowing that I could not influence it if I get them or not. If you have them and you didn’t cream regularly know: it isn’t your fault. If you get them in puberty you are likely to get them in pregnancy as well.
I am now 8 months postpartum and my stretch marks are almost white. Not seeing them as clearly definitely helped me a lot to love my body after having a baby. It is not as pretty as before but know that the look in the mirror right after birth is not what you will see the rest of your live.
Weight gain
There are very mixed advises when it comes to weight gain during pregnancy. There official tables with your BMI and how many pounds you should gain but very little things you can do about it if you gain more or less weight than recommended. Everyone says you should eat healthy and exercise enough but still there is great variety in weight gain among pregnant women. If you gained too much or too little weight you are not alone. In this report of the national center for health statistics you can see that half of women gained more weight than recommended and 1 in 5 women gained less weight than recommended. So don’t feel bad if you didn’t meet the numbers: you’re not alone.
If you gain a lot of weight during pregnancy you will have more weight left after giving birth. That has a huge influence on how you view yourself and your new body. But don’t be discouraged. Even though it can make it harder for you to love your body after having a baby this does not define how beautiful you look to your spouse and your baby.
Read here how I lost my baby weight healthily while breastfeeding.
The functionality of your body after having a baby
One thing I struggled even more with than the weight and the stretch marks was that I could not do the things I loved to do anymore. During pregnancy movement becomes more challenging and you might feel restrictions through pains and other pregnancy symptoms. Somehow I lived in the illusion that after birth I would need a few weeks and then i could start building my strength quickly back to normal. What I thought would take 6 weeks, took at least 6 months. If this is something you struggle with hang on as I share my top tips on how to love your body and also its functionality after having a baby.
8 Practical tips on how to love your body after having a baby
Now you know: stretch marks fade, you are not along with your weight gain and with time you get back more functionality in your body. But what can you do to really love that new body of yours? Here are my tips:
- Don’t look at triggering pictures or videos of women you compare yourself to on social media
- Buy one or two new outfits or even swimwear that fit your new body and make you feel confident
- Talk with your spouse or close friends or family about your insecurities and seek their encouragement
- Speak or (if this is awkward) think to your body at least once a day: thank you for what you have done
- Don’t weight yourself more often than once a week
- Go for walks of at least 30 minutes as often as you can
- Have less mirrors in your house, the less you see yourself the less you think about our looks
- And my favorite: Put a big copy of your favorite picture of your precious little baby next to your bathroom mirror. Every time you see yourself after taking a shower and start thinking unloving thoughts about your body you can look at the adorable little human it grew
Loving your body for what it is capable of takes time. Give yourself grace even if you not love everything about your body after having a baby. With time you can learn how to appreciate your body for what it is: strong, beautiful and truly amazing.
What helped you to love your body more after having a baby? Leave a reply
