Mum-of-two believes we need to be kinder to postpartum bodies

Instagram star Courtney, a.k.a aforeverlylove, recently has been praised for opening up about the difficulties of readjusting to her postpartum body. 

In the posts, the mother-of-two from New Hampshire, who also has a two-year-old daughter, Everly, can be seen showing the difference between her body during and immediately after pregnancy. 
 

 

Getting your body back after baby takes time and hard work. It's not going to happen overnight, and definitely not in a week either. But, I'll continue to breastfeed and stay as active as I can until I get cleared for working out at my 6wk appt hopefully. . For now I'll just remind MYSELF to be kind about my body and all the hard work it did to grow not only our sweet girl 2 years ago, but also our big healthy 9lb 4oz baby boy a little over a week ago. You did good body, you did good.  . . . #1weekpostpartum #postpartumjourney #bodyafterbaby #postpartum #postpartumbody #4thtrimester #fourthtrimester #takebackpostpartum #postpartumbelly

 

 She shares that it takes time to return to pre-baby weight: "Getting your body back after baby takes time and hard work. It's not going to happen overnight, and definitely not in a week either." 

Courtney continues to say how important it is to be kind to oneself after having a baby: "For now I'll just remind MYSELF to be kind about my body and all the hard work it did to grow not only our sweet girl two years ago, but also our big healthy 9lb 4oz baby boy a little over a week ago." 

"You did good body, you did good."

 

Wow, guys. I just wanted to say THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for all the kind words you had taken the time to type on my recent 1week postpartum picture. I was flooded with sweet messages and other mamas thanking me for being so real and raw about what motherhood (sometimes) looks like a week after you deliver. *As a couple commenters pointed out, sure some people go back to pre-pregnancy weight in a week– that's incredible!! *. . But the point I truly wanted to drive home was just to love your body and appreciate the miracle it was able to do to carry your sweet babies inside of you. Our bodies are amazing and resilient and strong .. and being NICE to both yourself and others really does make the world a better place.  . So, set your cup of coffee down. Go look in the mirror and give yourself a little pep talk. "Oh hey there you badass Mama. Don't be sad. You got this. And I love you." .  #bekind . . #1weekpostpartum #postpartumjourney #bodyafterbaby #postpartum #maternity #postpartumbody #transformation #beforeandafter #babybump #bumpdate #4thtrimester #fourthtrimester #takebackpostpartum #postpartumbelly #breastfeeding #justmomlife #letthembelittle #motherhoodrising #clickinmoms #cameramama #ig_motherhood #mymamahood #honestmotherhood #momswithcameras #momtogs #lovelysquares #mamalove #mom_hub #parenthood_moments

A post shared by  (@aforeverlylove) on Nov 8, 2017 at 4:19am PST 

After her original post received nearly 16,000 likes and 300 comments she took to Instagram again to repeat the message of self love: 

"Love your body and appreciate the miracle it was able to do to carry your sweet babies inside of you. Our bodies are amazing and resilient and strong.. and being NICE to both yourself and others really does make the world a better place."

"So, set your cup of coffee down. Go look in the mirror and give yourself a little pep talk. "Oh hey there you badass Mama. Don't be sad. You got this. And I love you.""

 

Post Bump-Date! 2 weeks after delivering. Happy #transformationtuesday ! After some research I learned that in a week, your uterus still weighs a little over a pound – half of what it weighed just after you gave birth. After two weeks, it's down to a mere 11 ounces and located entirely within your pelvis. By about four weeks, it should be close to its pre-pregnancy weight of 3.5 ounces or less. How crazy is that?! . Anyways, since posting my 1 week postpartum photo I wanted to compare it to another week gone by and I'm happy to report that things are starting to tighten up and my bellybutton is making its trip back inside its cave. . . . #2weekspostpartum #2weekspp #postpartumjourney #bodyafterbaby #postpartum #maternity #postpartumbody #transformation #beforeandafter #babybump #bumpdate #4thtrimester #fourthtrimester #takebackpostpartum #postpartumbelly #breastfeeding #momof2 #40weekspregnant #fullterm #40weeks #pregolicious #pregnantandperfect #10monthspregnant #authenticmotherhood #uniteinmotherhood #bumpenvy #babyboy #readytopop #10monthspregnant #yesthebump

A post shared by  (@aforeverlylove) on Nov 14, 2017 at 4:50am PST

The posts inspired other mums to reach out with their own messages of support. 

"You look amazing, don’t be hard on yourself. You look beautiful. Take it slow, it took me 6 months to get back to my weight. Every woman has a different type, some are lucky. Enjoy your baby your body has been through, a lot 9lbs is a heavy load!"

"Yes, mama! Moms should give themselves more credit and respect for their body that just housed and birthed a human being. The goal shouldn’t be about immediately getting that pre-baby body back. Take some time to recover and enjoy your newborn. Good luck!"

"You are the best for posting this!! It can be so hard as a mom to feel happy with a post baby body, but you’re right, your body has worked miracles. It is so beautiful to see and hear a mom expressing that. Media is so damaging to women and so much of social media is as well. But this is so inspiring, so thank you!!!!"

We think her message of self-love is super empowering for any new mum!