I have to be honest and admit my ignorance here, but I did not realise that post baby I would have a bump still. I mean, by the time I was pregnant I knew as I had friends who had babies before me, but I did not realise how big it would look and how long it would last. It has to be said that 12 hours after giving birth to Burton, when I took him home to meet his family my Dad made a joke about how I looked like I was still pregnant. Luckily for my Dad, I was still in the euphoria of being a new Mummy and just laughed at his quip. However, what if I were a younger less confident woman - a comment like that could really hurt or upset me.
I was seething on Wednesday after seeing that a well known celebrity magazine posted a photo of Kate and William with their new born baby son (now known as George), and next to the gorgeous photo were words saying how Kate would soon shift that baby weight and post baby bump through sticking to an exercise regime to target those areas and it would soon shrink becausd she is super fit. WHAT???? What kind of irresponsible message is this? Let alone that it is offensive and upsetting to a new Mum- any Mum whether she be a member of the royal family or not. I was - in fact I stil am - disgusted.
I LOVED the fact that Kate presented her new son - and future King of England - to the world with her post baby bump in full view. *This* showed a natural and beautiful new Mummy image and a postive one. At last a sensible post baby image - none of this tummy tuck rubbish that some celebs have put themselves through before appearing in public. A real woman. A real post baby body. A real role model for all young girls and new mums everywhere. Yeah so OK she had her hair all looking clean and styled and she wore heels and looked made up, BUT she looked natural and glowed as any new Mum does.
This is why I am so angry with OK Magazine - what gives them the right to highlight that Kate has a bump still and that she will need to get exercising in order to get rid of it. Why not celebrate that a new Mum has given birth to a healthy baby boy. For goodness sake her baby was 24 hours old - give her a break. Give all new Mums a break. It takes 9 months to grow a baby - you shoud expect it to take as long to get rid of it.
When I had Burton my post baby bump was with me for some weeks months. I breast fed which helped me to lose it but I also ate cakes and biscuits. Exercising and eating really healthly was the last thing on my mind. I wanted to enjoy this special time with my new born son and knew that I would get rid of it eventually ..... one day. Don't get me wrong I did not always like the way I looked weeks down the line trying to cover up my bump still, and still not being able to wear the clothes I had once worn pre baby. BUT at the end of the day, I had a baby and he was mine and healthy and beautiful and perfect - this was more important to me. I was tired, knackered and just lived to get through each day : one day at a time. Goodness some days I struggled to grab a shower and wash my hair, when would I have fitted in exercise? Not to mention the fact that I had stitches 'down below' and needed to be careful and rest for the first few days.
Yes, I had a post baby bump - but I am a real woman just like Kate is. I feel for any woman who feels she HAS to shift her bump and the extra weigth gain fast because they feel pressured to do so. Those first few weeks and months of having a new baby should be special and should be about enjoying getting to know your new baby and not about how you look and how many calories you are eating/ burning off!
Here is the proof of my bump after having Burton and then after having Jenson - I didn't always like the way it made me feel as the boys got older, but during their first few months of being alive it did not bother me. I had too much else to worry myself about!
Despite losing weight, getting pregant again, losing the weight and putting some on and off and on and off again I know that my stomach will never be as it was before I had my boys. Maybe if I stuck to a rigid exercise regime with time it could get almost back to where it was (not that it had been that good since my 20's anyway!). There are times when I hate the way I look as I struggle to find clothes that flatter my new post baby shape BUT, at the end of the day I am not that bad and if I stopped eating cakes it would help. However, if I spent all my time worrying about how I looked I would never have fun and enjoy being a Mummy to my boys, and being a good Mummy is more important to me.
I really hope Kate feels the same way- I hope any new Mum feels like this and does not let some stupid magazine belittle what is such a special time and make any woman feel they should be worried about their post baby body especially so soon after giving birth. It is simply irresponsible and damaging and I hope that magazine and its staff and editor in chief feel ashamed of themselves. Sadly though, they probably don't care what negative messages they are sending out to the women and girls in our society.
*the magazine has now issued an apology but I still don't think that makes what they did forgivable or excusable*
This post was brought to you as part of Flashback Friday
Remember a flashback can be from any time whether it be yesterday, last week, last month, last year or yesteryear! It can be a flashback of your own, your children, your partner or your friends. And if you don't want to write a post, then just link up a photo with a date. If you don't have time to write a new post.
What a brilliant post, im like you also after having 2 children. Im hoping to be able eventually to shift some of my baby fat but for now im jus concentrating on dieting to achieve my goal.
ReplyDeleteWell said Jenny!! I was somewhat naive and didn't expect my baby bump to be still quite as big once having my little one. It is hard enough trying to look after the little one when you're a new mum and trying to find your feet and you feel conscious enough about your body without a magazine enforcing what you think about yourself. I can't believe that this was the first thing they were focused on and am disgusted that this is what they felt was important. Spending time with you baby is so more important than exercising like mad to become a stick again. I'm trying now to cut back on what I am eating and eat healthier in order to try and loose my post baby weight but I know it won't happen over night. Comments like OK's just make you more self conscious that others are judging you too that you're not back to your pre baby weight! xx
ReplyDeleteI honestly honestly don't even get this at all- of course it is ok to have a baby bump! OK were really really disgusting even mentioning it, but then at the end of the day it is just a trashy magazine. Think about all that stretching and growing. We grew humans for goodness sake! In all those photos you look beautiful. And for people to say 'It's nice Kate showed her baby bump' when she came out of the hospital- just ridiculous. She gave birth less than 26 hours before? It really irritates me.
ReplyDeleteLL is 5 months and my tummy is the worst it has ever been. Whereas last time it bounced back reasonably well (not straight after giving birth but within a few months) this time it isn't shifting and I have a saggy, rounded tummy that looks like I am about 4 months pregnant.
But you know what? I don't care. Sometimes I feel a bit low but if I really cared I would be exercising and as yet I am not. I have my gorgeous girlies and LL is 5 months old. Even when she is 5 years old I can still say I had a baby. Our bodies change a lot in pregnancy and unfortunately unless you are super fit or incredibly lucky they don't bounce back exactly the same as they were. But look at what we got in exchange for wobbliness. Ultimately I am proud of my wobbles, even if I don't always feel that way. xx
I think both she and you look amazing. It's such an incredible thing; to bring a person into the world, why are we even worrying about the body changes after? I think OK! were wrong to publish what they did but sadly there is a market for it, hopefully the uproar about it will have educated some people though.
ReplyDeleteI thought she look amazing when she came out with her new baby and her husband. They were beaming. I bet no one even noticed her post-baby bump. I think it was really, really inappropriate of OK to publish that page/article (I don't buy the magazine) and I hope they print some sort of retraction and an apology. I think, at some point, all new mums look at their body and think oh where did it go??! However, having a baby does change your body and this new life you have to look after is way more important than a flabby tummy.
ReplyDeleteWell said - bloody ridiculous to even mention it . It's not a crime not to have a perfect figure last time I looked- cant believe new mums now have hair do and make up etc for post birth photos - where will it end??? X
ReplyDeleteI was disgusted to read about OK's magazine cover. It is as if women don't have the right to have a bump or be a bit "out of shape" I honestly hope people will how stupid that is and ignore the sort of idea they are trying to convein by not buying their glossy mag.
ReplyDeletei hope so too but these media giants donet give a toss really they just want circulation and money!! thanks for your comment i agree completely x
ReplyDeletethanks Rita :) it ruddy ridiculous!! we have enough going on without stupid magazines making us feel bad! x x
ReplyDeletei did too Laura and it was just a wonderful moment of two proud parents showing their baby off. EVERY woman who has a baby has a bump and will continue to do so after giving birth its a fact!!! i have a flabby tummy and as you say i had two children as a result - couldnt be happier x x
ReplyDeletethank you. i agree it is what happens to every woman and every woman should not be made to feel like they nedd to hide it away from the world and get rid of it fast either x x
ReplyDeleteKatie its just really annoys me how the media feel they have a right to dictate what a woman whouild or shouldnt do or how they should or should not look. Every woman who has a baby has a bump and every new mummy will also have a bump for a while and to be fair the majority of us always will have a wobble where our babies were carried. But that is the point, we carried a new life for 9 months and protected them in those bumps - those wobbly bits are a reminder of how amazing we as women are.Yes i hate mine sometimes too but i look at my boys and i dont care. i have two healthy boys - i had two healthy babies i would rather have a bump then not have them.
ReplyDeletethanks for commenting x x x
thanks Karen i had to get it all out!!!! i think the media is so damagin in its sweeping statements and opinions - what gives them the right to be so bloody judgemental?? winds me up grrrrrrr!!!
ReplyDeletethank you for commenting x
thanks Bex i had to write it down i was so mad (still am). xx
ReplyDeleteI think you look amazing in the pictures and I was very angry at people even mentioning Kate's tummy. The thing is it is often other women that put this pressure on mums
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you have shared your photos (p.s. you look amazing!) and you are so right; it really made me so mad to see what they had written! My tummy never really went back from Lucas but I wasn't that slim to start with and now I'm pregnant again it really is the last thing on my mind. I don't think any Mum should look at another Mum and comment on her post baby-weight, so so rude! It should all be about enojoying your baby! xx
ReplyDeleteHaving a baby changes most women's bodies forever. I'm sure some women snap right back but for me my hips have changed and so has my tummy. I know I could lose weight, and I do plan to but LM isn't a year old yet. I'm enjoying my babies rather than feeling obliged to punish myself for daring to change my body by having them. I'm sick of magazines like OK and their shallow obsession with appearance, I don't buy them as I don't want them in a house where I'm trying to raise two young people to be happy and confident in their own skin, either of neither of them can read yet.
ReplyDeleteFor the record I think you look beautiful Jenny, the love and pride in your boys shines through, just as it did for Kate in the photos last week. Let's face it, a new mum's smile and the gorgeous new baby is what should be the focus, not a body that has just grown a human and needs time to recover!