So here are 2 photos of me. Taken in the space of 48 hours. One was taken about 12 hours before I went into labour and the other was taken about 4 hours after I gave birth and was moved from the delivery suite to my room.
If you've read my blog you will know that I never really harped on about my pregnancy much. I was fortunate that I had a really easy and non eventful pregnancy. Most of the time I "forgot" that I was pregnant until a little person inside my stomach got the hiccups or moved a little.
I was in Zara yesterday and a young mother with a toddler approached me and said that she wished that she was as thin as me after giving birth and that I must be STARVING myself. It only registered with my brain later what she had just said. She assumed that I was starving myself. Do I really look like that? I carried and gave birth to a healthy baby and 7 months on I'm nursing a happy and healthy baby. One that is in the 97th percentile for size. So why do we assume the worse? Why is a person's appearance considered either as a result of starvation or eating fried chicken for breakfast, lunch and dinner? I'm sure lifestyle choices play a part, but so do genetics and circumstances.
I've been attending the gym semi regularly since I was 18. I went through a phase where I worked out 6 days a week but also when I didn't go for 6 months. While I was pregnant I kept relatively active. I exercised here and there (nothing strenuous). I took the stairs instead of the lift. I walked where I could. I swam in the ocean to cool down and relax. I ate a lot of fruit and vegetables as they made me feel fantastic, plus it was a hot summer so overly sweet or heavy food just didn't seem appealing.
Postpartum I walked every day in the early months as the only way I could get my baby to sleep during the day was to take her for a walk in the pram. And nursing a baby burns 500 calories a day. I didn't really purchase nor wear maternity clothes as my body didn't change enough to warrant it. So don't assume that I starved myself to fit into my jeans.
There are just too many trashy magazines out there accusing women of subscribing to crazy diets and exercise regimes to look a certain way. Some may do, but some may not. Don't assume. I have no idea what the real point of post is, but don't worry lady at Zara, I'm not starving myself! I have stretch marks and loose skin, you just can't see it. I think my body was just programmed to return to it's old self relatively quickly.
Recently had a very similar experience (more that my priorities are off, based I guess on an assumption that I'm exercising and/or dieting). Have also been told several times I don't look like I've had a baby/don't look like a mum to a newborn, which I find inexplicably upsetting. People suck sometimes xx
ReplyDeleteSeriously. Who are these people? And what makes them think its ok to be so damn rude!! Gahhhhh!!!
ReplyDeleteI was at a High Tea debate yesterday where Natarsha Belling shared that she found women were the least supportive of each other when it came to judging her mothering skills. One even told her she shouldn't be eating chocolate cake because that baby weight is never gonna disappear! So I think we can never win. And perhaps sometimes women hurt others because they themselves are struggling with that particular issue themselves. I am sorry you feel judged, I for one have been following you all this while and know you're not 'starving' yourself, just making the right choices and blessed with good genes. :)
ReplyDeleteI was the same. I didn't put on much weight during pregnancy, and then lost it all + an extra few kilos within a week of labour - probably due to nursing, sleep deprivation, shock that my well ordered life had changed completely! I was actually concerned about my quick weight loss rather than proud of it. And under those skinny jeans are a whole host of stretch marks and jiggly bits that bear testimony to how amazing my body is and what it went through to birth out a beautiful child.
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