“We talk a lot about the postpartum body.
Extra wrinkles and folds.
Spider veins and varicosities.
Stretch marks and hernias.
Extra pounds and saggy breasts.
It’s a good conversation, a necessary conversation, the raw truths of how a person can come to appreciate a body that’s been beautifully and intentionally broken and then left searching for whole.
But there’s something missing most of the time. We keep leaving out an essential chapter, the one that may be the beginning and end of the entire story.
From day one, there is a gorgeous love story between our babies and our bodies – regardless of size, of shape, of mark.
400 pounds or 100 pounds, lined or smooth, veined or firm, they can always find the contours they want. The crook of a neck, an armpit, an elbow. The hollow of breasts, a shoulder. The softness that envelops, the voice that sings, the mouth that murmurs, the hands that soothe.
They come out looking for our bodies. They come out longing for our bodies. They come out looking for safety, for love, for home – and they find it in our bodies.
We can talk about the postpartum body. Please – let’s never stop. But maybe, we should let our babies guide the conversation. Maybe, we should let their love be the measure next to which we stand. Maybe, we should let the way they love our bodies be the beginning of all of us loving them, too.”
This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Lo Mansfield of Denver, CO. You can follow her journey on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and her website. Submit your own story here, and be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.
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All Postpartum Body Types Are Beautiful
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