Your Body After Pregnancy Is a Different Kind of Beautiful: Why You Should Embrace Your Mom Bod! by Heather Holter

Here’s a post I wrote four years ago on Facebook:

“I was never a small person 160 pounds, 5 feet, 7 inches, before I had kids. After having five kids in under six years, my youngest now 6, I weigh 154. The number is smaller, but my body is different. Saggy boobs from pregnancy/nursing five kids, tons of stretch marks and extra skin, 'twinskin' as they say. A sweet thing happened while I was lying on the bed helping my 9-year-old daughter with homework that gave me some perspective.

“My shirt came up and she said, 'That is so cool, you have a floppy tummy!' I smiled and said, 'Yep, it got that way from stretching while I was growing all you kids inside my body.' She excitedly asked me when she would get to have a floppy tummy. I told her she probably won't unless she has three or more kids since mine wasn't like that till after I had my third, and got even more floppy after the twins, who were born last. She looked very sad about it and said she only wanted two kids. I hugged her and told her no matter what her body is beautiful always and forever even if it changes.

“I then realized the gift this floppy tummy is. Kids really help you see things you would otherwise never see. BTW: ALL my kids like my floppy tummy, and so do I!!! LOL :)”

Let’s embrace our mom bodies!