Mum's selfie depicts what 70 pounds over weight looks like, and it's beautiful
Photographer Tiffany Burke, has gained a standing ovation from us for being an incredible woman.
The mum, who birthed five babies, has posted a snap to Instagram which she labelled 'not an easy share', and we can totally understand why.
Giving birth is one of the most incredible acts you can partake in this world, but the aftermath is also one of the most vulnerable times for a new mum.
Mums feel under pressure to bounce back and become their former selves, not taking into consideration the long, hard journey their bodies have been on.
After five pregnancies, Tiffany knows how this can feel, but her post where she holds her baby, Quinn, is a beautiful rendition of why we should embrace our new selves: "This is what 70 lbs overweight looks like."
"This is what exclusively breastfeeding yet gaining weight looks like. This is what a working mum, with no make-up and no time for self-care looks like."
"This is also what my happiness looks like."
"What my body looks like does not determine my happiness or my success. My body is my temporary shell. My life is truly beautiful."
Tiffany explains that her body doesn't appear the way it does because she has given birth to five babies, rather it is this way due to giving birth to her fifth baby, as she was a 'healthy' weight before becoming pregnant with her latest addition.
"Currently, I can't workout hardcore like I have in the past or I will lose my milk supply. I am also eating all the food because I'm just starving. Some weeks I eat so healthily, other weeks I'm downing a sleeve of Oreos and feeling giddy."
"I work a lot and choose my free time to be with my kids. My body can wait a bit and I'm proud to make that choice. It's mine to make. They won't be little much longer and I will have missed it all."
"My body is the home I keep. And like my home, it ebbs and it flows as the seasons of my life do. My home is sometimes messy, sometimes clean, sometimes both. Our bodies ebb and flow in the seasons of our lives."
Tiffany is not punishing herself, she is not putting herself under pressure to conform to ideals set out on social media, she is making choices based on her family life, and what is best for her babies.
"We must be the inner voice that we should have had growing up. Our thoughts have great power over our daily lives. Our bodies are important to love, but not so important to invest so much hate into."
"SO MUCH MORE MATTERS. Be healthy, be strong, make a change when you can, be you, be unafraid. Ignore the rest."
"It’s okay if someone thinks I'm not pretty. I'm not here on this planet to please their eyeballs. I am worth so much more and so are you."
We can't begin to describe the love we have for Tiffany's post, and we hope other mums can unapologetically take a leaf from this mum's book.