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My Mom Bod is a Size Two (People, That Is)

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Ah pregnancy. That glorious time when many women are willing to take all of the pain, sickness, and general discomfort in stride if only for the opportunity of getting to do things for two. Oh, and holding that precious bundle of joy, of course.

We eat for two. Rest for two. Wait in the shortest line at Disney World for two. . .

All in all, we like to take advantage of that second little co-pilot. Call it a perk of the job that is motherhood. And that's perfectly okay because we are doing something so spectacularly miraculous (ah em, growing another person!) that having nine months of a little kickback is hardly something to worry about.

But I wonder, of all the things that we happily delight in "doing for two", why haven't we added growing to that list?

Why is it so easy for us to look at a pregnant mama and shower her with compliments of her radiant beauty, yet it is so difficult for us to do the same once she is postpartum?

Even more so, why can't we do that for ourselves?

Four years ago my body conceived, grew, and provided a temporary home to a beautiful baby boy. Now here I am, doing the exact same thing once again.

Yet when I think back to my post-baby body--the one that had yet to know the strain of a five pound baby on a full bladder, or just how far my once toned stomach could actually stretch--I only remember how unhappy I was inside of it.

If I could only go down one dress size, I would be happier, I thought. If only my thighs were a little thinner. My face a little less full.

Today, I may look a little different than the woman I was before. With the weight of two pregnancies baring down on my petite frame, my hips have shifted wider and my feet have grown a little longer. I find my butt more comfortably fits into a fashionable set of black leggings than my old boot cut jeans. And my days of shopping from the front racks at Victoria's Secret have been officially exchanged for diving through the bargain bin thinking only of support, not sex appeal.

Now, I openly admit that I would be lying if I ever said I am perfectly comfortable in the body I have now. But this body has been a home for two little boys and wears the proof of that daily.

It's strong enough to support a growing belly in the front and a toddler on my side. To face each day a little bigger than I was before, knowing it'll have to be put through extreme pain before it gets any better.

It's a Mom Bod, through and through.

Though my hips may be wide, my feet a little flat, and my chest, well, you know...

I'm proud to announce my size:

I am a size 2 (people, that is).

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For more encouraging stories, be sure to follow Kayla on Facebook and on her blog at The Rustic Hideaway.

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