My husband and I will be going to a wedding and I am stressed about it. Why? I have nothing that fits me in my closet. Sound familiar?My clothes consist of a few categories:
- Clothes that fit before I was pregnant with twins
- Maternity Clothes
- Clothes I bought after I was pregnant but are a little too big now
People glass over the fact that once you have a baby – your body is never the same again. For each person it is different but you will never be the same. I always thought that I would have the kids and just lose the weight and my body would go back to “normal”. Boy was I wrong.
Every month since I have had the boys I torture myself by trying on a pair of black pants and a dress that fit me before I was pregnant . Each time I try them on I am somehow surprised and disappointed that they don’t fit. People say “Give it time” or “You look great for having twins” but what it comes down to is that my clothes don’t fit. There is a sense of failure that comes with that.
Three months ago I decided to take some control and started using MyFitnessPal app on my iPhone. I am able to track my calories daily and even enter in my exercise.
I was feeling so great that I tried my black pants on this morning. I was able to zip and button them! My day has finally come. Don’t get me wrong – they don’t “fit” like they used to but I am so pleased I can finally button them.
I don’t know why as women we are so hard on ourselves. We carried our children for 9 (or 10) months and gave birth and it was a miracle! I have battle scars – literally. I had a C-section and will forever have a scar and loose skin on my stomach. Big deal, right? Other women have other scars they are dealing with either physically or emotionally. You are a strong beautiful mamma – so try to give yourself a break today – you deserve it!
Stacie, thanks for opening up this dialog!
Thanks Stacie! I have really let myself off the hook for gaining so much weight and have started accepting where I am physically while continuing to try and make healthier choices. It is important to keep reminding women that our bodies are so much more than just how they appear, so thanks for this!! And you look so great (twins or no twins!)
Thanks Christin! You also look great too Mamma!!
love this! i had a pair of jeans that i had in my closet for years after my first was born. i could never ever get back in them. i threw them out. it was awesome. in fact i threw out almost all of my “used to fit” clothes because i didn’t want to be reminded of what i “used” to be. i have worked hard over the last year to lose my pregnancy weight from ruby and i am happy with where i am at. but don’t get me wrong–there are still lots of stretch marks and belly fat…and my belly button…fuggedda ’bout it.
🙂
Well Heather – from looking at you – you wouldn’t know – because you look fantastic!!
Personally I’m not a big fan of the “You look great for [just having a baby / twins / etc]” comments, because they are still comparing you to some ideal / apologizing for where you’re at. The norm in our society should really be post-partum bodies, because we (generally) spend so much more time in life post-partum than we do pre-partum!
Some days I feel pretty good about my postpartum body, but other days I find a million different things I hate, or stand sideways in the mirror inspecting my non-fitting clothes and torturing myself…
Thanks for sharing – I’m sure this is near and dear to lots of mamas.
Elissa,
I agree about the comparison – and I have actually said to people – “What if I only had one baby – would you still think I looked great?” Other people can’t control our self like and our self worth – it’s a struggle! Thanks for you comment – I love that it touched someone!