Mom Shares How She Came to Terms With Stretch Marks
The Moment of "Panic" That Made 1 Mom Finally Come to Terms With Her Stretch Marks
There's no denying that coming to terms with your postpartum body is a difficult feat. Accepting them is one matter, but celebrating them is a completely different story, and one mom just opened up about what it took for her to realize that those marks are "beautiful."
Instagram user _healthy_fit_mama recently shared a close-up shot of her stretch marks along with the details about what why she's finally decided to fully embrace her postpartum body — belly lines and all. She started by explaining how she only had a couple of small marks for the first eight months of her pregnancy. "And then BAM! Woke up like this," she wrote, referencing how even more markings popped up on her abdominal area. At first, these new lines made her self-conscious, as she started to question whether her husband would still find her attractive or if wearing a two-piece swimsuit would be possible anymore. But that all changed when she had a flashback to a scary moment during her pregnancy in which she feared for her unborn baby's health.
"I remember the night I woke up and hadn't felt my baby move," she wrote in the post. "I was in a panic . . . I didn't care if my whole body was covered in stretch marks if it meant my baby was OK." After making it to the ER, the mom-to-be was overcome with a "wave of relief, joy, and pure bliss" when she heard her baby girl's heartbeat on the monitor, confirming that all was well.
It was the memory of that panic-inducing moment — a moment in which her baby's health far outweighed her personal appearance — that made her realize how her body was "creating life."
My body (was) stretching to accommodate my precious baby and that was OK. So today as I look down and see those beautiful stretch marks I'm reminded that it doesn't matter. She is okay and she is healthy because of those marks. She is alive because my body grew to give her life. I love these marks.
