Embracing your post-baby body can be a challenge. When you look in the mirror after having a baby, things look inevitably different. Don’t forget, you literally grew a baby inside you for nine (long) months! Trust me when I say, that almost all of us have struggled with loving our new bodies at one time or another. Here are some great tips and ways of thinking that have helped me in my journey towards embracing my body after baby.
Related:5 Best Post-Pregnancy Workout Books to Whip You Back into Shape
Easy Steps for Embracing your Post-Baby Body
The Science Behind It
If you’re anything like me, you probably read every single book you could get your hands on while you were pregnant with your first child. Go back and read up on some of the amazing things that our bodies did to be able to make a baby; from the amazing growing and then shrinking of the uterus; to the ability to literally grow a small human from what started out as a cluster of cells. Ok, maybe I don’t rock a bikini like I did before I became a mom, but I gave birth to a baby that I made inside of me. So, I’m basically a scientist!
Get Out There
No one is as critical as you are about your own body. Trust me on this one, we are our own worst critics and our own worst enemies at times. I take my son to swimming lessons, and the first time I went in the pool with him was really anxiety provoking because I was really nervous about how I look in my bathing suit. But you know what? All of the other parents were in the pool and just doing their own thing with their kids too, and no one was paying any attention to me at all. We all just enjoyed the special time with our children, and there was no judgment. Sometimes you just have to get out there and jump right in – you might be surprised by how liberating it can be.
Examine Your Closet
You know that awful feeling when you try to wear something from your pre-baby days, and it just doesn’t fit the way it used to, and it is just either too small or really unflattering? Me too, and it took me quite a long time to realize that I just couldn’t dress the way I used to. The changes weren’t drastic, but streamlining my closet to reflect my new changed post-baby body truly helped me to feel better about myself. Rather than dressing the body I used to have, I dress my body now. Common sense, right?
Ditch Hollywood
Oh my goodness, it can be really upsetting reading the latest celebrity entertainment gossip, and learning that X celebrity lost all her baby weight in two months and is back to modeling bikinis. Most of us just can’t compare ourselves to such unrealistic representations of reality! Most celebrities have amazing genetics for starters, and an arm-long list of assistance that help them look so amazing right after having a baby: personal trainers; private chefs; stylists; makeup artists; and who knows what else. Don’t compare yourself to them, because it’s just not real life for most of us!
Don’t Compare
This kind of goes along with the above point, but comparing yourself to another new mom is not a good idea. We all had different bodies before getting pregnant, so it makes sense that we’re still all going to look different once the baby is born. A very good friend of mine is thin and looked like she had not had a baby only a few days after giving birth. I felt jealous until she told me how devastated she was that it was as if the whole pregnancy never happened because she had wanted a reminder of carrying her baby inside of her, but her body had different ideas.
Take Care Of Yourself
Sounds simple enough, yet I’m sure you know how easy to take care of everyone else’s needs before your own. Taking the time to prioritize yourself can go a long way towards feeling happy, and better about yourself overall – which can help you embrace yourself head to toe.
I hope you find my ways to help you embrace your body after baby helpful. What are some ways that you’ve embraced your post-baby body?
These are some great ideas for embracing your post-baby body! I wish I would have thought of some of these after my babies!
A great post! This is very helpful. Thanks for the tips. Will apply it for my baby.
These six tips are just fantastic! I know plenty of new mothers that self-conscious about their bodies and they could use these tips.
These are great tips for new moms! Our bodies are all unique and none of us are perfect.
These are great tips! Very hard to accept my body after 3 pregnancies but I am proud of it!
These are all so true! And I love all these amazing tips! I appreciate my body more after having two babies.
Ditch Hollywood….YES! They’re not as perfect as everyone thinks and it’s unattainable!
These are all great tips. I feel like the older I get the more I can be appreciative.
These are some great tips. I know my body changed a lot and I had to adapt how I saw myself.
Yes my body changed drastically. Even my feet grew, but it was well worth!
My body definitely changed after having kids. I couldn’t dress exactly the same, but I learned to flatter my new body!
These are great things to consider after having kids! It seems like you have to adapt to the changes instead of resisting all of them!
Every woman needs to understand that their body is perfect no matter what. It’s even more perfect after they’ve carried a baby around for 9 months!
This is an excellent post. I’ve obviously never had a post baby body, but I saw how hard my wife struggled with getting back into shape and feeling like she wasn’t pretty.
This is such a great post! Our post baby bodies are nothing to be ashamed of. They go that way because we created LIFE.
This is a great post! May women need to hear this after having a baby!
Love this! There are definitely changes, but we ALL experience them.