Hello there!

How are you today? I hope you are better than I am? Been a little while. I have been a bit under the weather but I am well on my way to recovery😁.

I think I have written something related to this before where I talked about my after baby body,however,after talking to a friend who recently became a mum,I feel the need to do this again as there might be other women who also really feel this way.

My friend is a bit younger than me,say about two years younger and had her first child a little while ago,that child is now a beautiful and very active toddler. However,my friend has had a difficult time accepting her after baby body😊.

She reached out and we talked for a bit. She said our discussion helped her put things into perspective and she didn’t mind if I talked about any part of our conversation I think may help someone else on here.

Now,here is the thing,I have always been fascinated by a woman’s body. The body of a woman does amazing things. I am a practical person and I look at life knowing that everything is about times and seasons.

When I was pregnant with my daughter,I keenly watched my body change completely,my belly grew so much that I felt like a baby whale. Parts of my body that I didn’t even think would grow grew. My nose,my feet😅
It was in the 7th month of that pregnancy I noticed the first streak of stretch marks. I was shocked! I mean,my mother had 7 pregnancies and not one single stretch mark on her tummy. I felt somewhat bad but my tummy was also really huge.

After my second pregnancy,I got some more stretch marks and because I had two C sections,plus all the pregnancy weight,my tummy looked like a drum. I also had my CS scars but the thing is this,being a mother never leaves you the exact same way and you should not expect it to.

In the case of my friend,she complained about quite a number of things. She talked about loose,flabby skin on her tummy,stretchmarks on her breasts,thighs and stomach and she particularly complained about feeling some looseness in her vagina walls.
I have not experienced this as I have never had a vaginal birth. However,I know and told her that Kegels will always help with this because the vagina is a muscle and like every other muscle,it can be exercised and firmed up or tightened just like you tighten up every other muscle in you body.

Kegels are easy to do and you can do them at anytime of the day. It may take a little while to notice the difference but if you stay consistent with it,you will get results. To get started with it,you are looking for your
Pelvic floor muscles, try holding your pee midstream,you feel a clench,that is the muscle you are exercising,so just clench from time to time as many times as you can. This can also help with your sex life as çlenching during sex actually helps to attain orgasm faster for both partners. Win win?Yes!

For the loose skin around the mid section,a change in diet if you are overweight and healthier meals as well as exercise will take care of most of it. Targeted exercises for the mid section as well as general body firmness always helps. I had Csections but my tummy is not terribly big or anything. It was for a little while but I started taking deliberate steps to take better care of my health and body. It helped a great deal.

Stretch marks,hmmm,I don’t know if there is a way to completely be rid of stretch marks,but the appearance can be improved on greatly. Shea butter is good for moisturizing and preventing them from looking dry and all wrinkled. There are also other oils that help with the gentle fading and appearance of stretchmarks over time.Also the vit E in shea also helps the breasts look better and perkier in the long run with massage.

When I was done breastfeeding,my breasts were slightly droopy and not as perky which is expected. I read somewhere about the use of coconut oil and shea to massage to make the breasts perkier and fuller. I had nothing to lose so I started doing this every night after I had a bath,it didn’t seem to be working at first but I just kept at my exercises and the massage and over time,I began to notice that it actually did make a difference. My breasts are not ‘flying full mast’ like they used to but they are not droopy either😁.

I cannot exactly say if it was solely the massage but I do know that it helped a great deal.

I would like to say that as much as I would encourage anyone to do all they can to improve on anything that makes them feel insecure or less confident after childbirth by doing practical things like losing excess weight,exercising,meditating ,stretches and anything that will make them feel better.
I will also say to you that childbirth is a beautiful thing and your body just did something amazing by nurturing and birthing a new life,cut yourself some slack and love your body enough to not expect it to stay exactly the same.

You can choose to love your body,stretchmarks and all or you can choose to keep dwelling on what it was which is a quick ticket to dissatisfaction and lack of body confidence. Of course there is always the option of cosmetic surgery too😊

After all is said and done,I do not think there is anything more attractive than confidence and being comfortable in your skin. At the end of the day,your body is your dwelling place,better make yourself comfortable in it.😊

For me,my body and I have a good relationship,I try to do the best for her at all times and ensure she is in good shape. However,I am much more than my body and I hope you see too that you are much more than your body…😊
I hope you have a week that is as beautiful as you.

❤
Yetunde.



Photo culled from the Internet