By Doula Jen

Beautiful Mamas,

Let’s open the blinds, cringe in the natural light, and go to that place we truly don’t want to go:  post-pregnancy baby weight.

It sucks–I know–to put on full front panel maternity jeans two months after Baby’s birth.  It’s not just the belly, the size, the fluid retention.  Things have shifted and dimpled, things jiggle in a way you never quite imagined.

Broader hips, a longer torso, new cellulite, thicker thighs.  Newborn, new you.  It’s overwhelming.

But listen now, Mamas.  Those first three months are no time for dieting.  Seriously…don’t.  You need your energy, you need nutrition, you need to replenish.  Eat and be well and enjoy your food as you get to know your baby.  Comfort yourself with a favorite soup followed by a bowl of ice cream.  In this tender time you require strength and you require happiness.

What’s more…I work with you goddesses in a way and at a time which strips away humility and modesty.  Childbirth does that, huh?  I watch you breastfeed, I run your bath, help you pick out the best nursing bra.  And in this capacity I feel sad that any woman should ever feel ashamed of milk-full breasts and wide hips.  Motherhood is awesome and powerful.  Although I too have fallen victim to self-scrutiny, from the outside I can see that a mother with a newborn is glowing…gorgeous.  Love like that makes us pretty and patient and kind:  living art.

Anyway…

The old standard with that “baby weight” is 9 months on, AT LEAST 9 months off.

So.  Be patient, hold your baby, laugh, and eat.

With love and a side of guacamole from your doula,

Jen