Pregnancy & Birth - What happened to my body?

As many of you already know, one of the biggest changes that no one shares with you during the nine glorious months of pregnancy is how many different parts of your body will never be the same after carrying a child.

My body changed slowly each day for nine months to adjust to carry my child and yet I somehow was disappointed when two days after delivery my body still looked six months pregnant. My stomach was saggy, spongy and deflated and my hips were wider than my shoulders. I felt awkward in maternity clothes and my old "normal" clothes were a world away from where I was.

Equally difficult to accept was the scar that accompanied my c-section. Thankfully, a dear friend pointed out that ugly scar represented a procedure that saved my life and my child's as well. Without that incision, we might neither have survived.Thankfully there are some great

natural remedies out there to help you heal.

I don't even want to talk about the changes from two children, it's not pretty. Let's just say I'm thankful to live in a day where push-up bras and shape wear are readily available. I just wish I'd known about the Belly Bandit after my first child Milo was born. 

With my children being born so close together, it took years for me to begin to accept what was the new norm for my body. Honestly, I still struggle with my body image as most women do throughout their life. It just takes readjustment again and again when having children to redress the ever changing flow. I think you just have to look at your children every day and what they give to you to understand that somehow through your own self image and self esteem, it's worth it! Life just keeps on getting better with children in it.

It's taken a lot of work to reach any sort of contentment with this body, most of it battling in my own mind, some of it through diet and exercise. I am so grateful that I have had another love of my life Yoga to help me through. I sometimes wonder if someone had taken the time to share with me how long it takes your body to fully recover from a pregnancy if it might have made it easier, if it would have helped me form more realistic expectations? Maybe not, I don't think there is a magic solution to keep other women from the same struggles and insecurities that come with the changes that occur during pregnancy.

How do you feel about your body, post pregnancy? What was the most shocking change you experienced? Have you accepted your new body? What helped you learn to appreciate it?

Caoimhe x