I wish I had a flat stomach. I wish I could wear whatever clothes I wanted and know I was going to look amazing in anything! I wish I could wear tight shirts without being worried about my muffin top hanging over. That is just not the reality of my life right now. I don't have a flat stomach. I have a huge flap of skin that falls over my waistband and it is embarrassing. Heck, it's embarrassing to share a picture with you but I feel like it is important. As women we want to be able to grow babies in our stomach for 9 months, push the baby out, and then go on with our days as if we never carried anything in our bodies. It certainly doesn't help when you see some women who can do that. I remember after I delivered my baby who was 10lbs I was told, "well Brittney just birthed her baby and left the hospital in her pre-pregnancy jeans." Well, that's awesome Karen, I am going to wear my husband's sweatpants till the day I die!
RELATED: How Letting Go Of My Quest For "The Perfect Body" Dramatically Improved My Life
I don't know why I thought after my fourth baby I would just snap back into my pre-pregnancy bod and I would start looking like a super model. After my other children I didn't really care about losing the baby weight because we wanted to have children back-to-back. Now, we are done having kids and I kind of just assumed my body would say, "oh you are done having kids, well here is your awesome body back! Well, that didn't happen.
My daughter is only two months old and my body has every battle scar showing that I had just given birth. My belly button is stretched, you can pull my skin, my belly is soft and mushy and there are stretch marks that surround my belly. My body has every piece of evidence that it held a baby for nine months. You know, sometimes I am embarrassed by it but then I remember what my body did for me and I am no longer embarrassed, I am so proud of it!
My body got pregnant six times! Sadly, we lost two of those sweet babies. My body carried four perfect babies full term. My body kept four babies safe, healthy and brought them into the world with very little complications. My body fought through severe sickness, ovarian cysts and kidney stones. My body carried a 10 lb baby, a 9lb baby, a 9b 7oz baby and a 7lb 2 oz baby. My body pushed four babies out of me and then healed each time even though the doctors didn't think I was going to heal very well after my first baby. My body then fed each child. It has done so much and I am so proud of it! No, this doesn't mean I am perfectly happy with my body. I am going to continue to work on it, but I am very thankful for what it was able to do for my family and I refuse to be embarrassed by it!
UP NEXT: I Was Mom Shamed For Wanting To Lose Weight After The Baby