This is for all my Postpartum Mommas.

This is for all my postpartum mommas—whether you are two weeks or nine months postpartum.

This is a letter to my pre-baby self:

Dear Me,

I’m writing you this letter because no one is going to tell you about the postpartum period which you right now believe will last only a few weeks. You should know that it is so much more than that. I feel you need this warning that no one had the nerve to give you.

You will look better pregnant than you do the first few (and by few I mean six), months after delivering a baby. I won’t tell you to enjoy it because I know that will just pis* you off.

Breastfeeding doesn’t come so naturally to everyone, and your boobs will hurt far more than you expect. On the upside, your boobs will look better while breastfeeding than ever before (there are some perks).

You will be lucky if you get to wash your hair once a week.

The weight will not just “fall” off, you will have to work it off.

When you do finally lose the weight, your body will still not look the same. Your hips will be wider, and your breasts will be… Smaller. (Why the hell did no one tell me this?)

All that beautiful thick pregnancy hair will fall out. You will wonder how you have any hair left on your head. Do not cut it all off.  It will not grow half as fast as it did when you were pregnant.

You will waiver between being too accepting of your new body and self and too hard on yourself.

You will wonder how long it is acceptable to say “I just had a baby.”

You will look at images of celebrities’ post-baby and feel frustrated.

Some of us will have terrible anxiety, worrying every second for our new babies.

Some of us will feel the exact opposite and will feel nothing to the point of depression and blues.

Your emotions will be all over the place. Pregnancy hormones and postpartum hormones.

Here’s the part I want you to read carefully:

You will feel better about yourself (I promise), but it won’t happen overnight.

When you hear all the time that you don’t need to look good because “you’re a mom now” ignore it.

You deserve to feel good about yourself again. You deserve to take time to care for yourself.

Your children will not learn to love and respect themselves if you don’t love and respect yourself first.

Treat yourself kindly in the months after having a baby. You brought an entire being into this world and while you may not feel beautiful…what can be more beautiful than that?

With love,

Your postpartum self (a much more tired version of you.)

P.S. I promise promise promise…It’s worth it.

Author: Erin Zadrima
Image: IMDb
Editor: Sara Kärpänen 

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Erin Zadrima left her career in fashion merchandising to become a stay-at-home mom in 2016. She started her own blog while pregnant with her second child in 2017. She blogs about topics she feels other moms can relate to such as pregnancy, post-partum issues, and raising children. Her blog is all about the emotional roller coaster that is motherhood—the beautiful moments and the ugly. Sharing her feelings with other moms “feeds her soul;” she also enjoys spending time with her two daughters, husband, and dog. Follow Erin on Instagram.

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