Mel Watts isn't exactly known for mincing her words when it comes to the trials and tribulations of parenthood. In fact, the Aussie mom behind the popular blog The Modern Mumma is pretty much known for her hilarious candor and no BS take on pretty much everything. But a recent post on her Instagram account is getting particular praise for the honest way it slices through all of that "when will I get my body back?" nonsense by giving it straight to moms everywhere: You won't.
Her message is simple and to the point (though it might kinda smack you in the face at first read).
"IT'S NOT COMING BACK," Watts declares. "NONE OF IT."
Ouch.
Seem kinda harsh? Honestly, Watts doesn't mean to be. She's just trying to be real about something women everywhere are privately dealing with — despite the countless Instagram posts of cellulite and stretch mark-free moms out there who claim they "bounced back" in just weeks.
"I get so angry and fired up when I see people writing about bouncing back post baby," she writes. "You’ll never ever ever be the same body or mind after you’ve had a baby."
You see, 12 years after having her first kid, Watts is well aware that those saggy boobs and that stretched-out tummy are here to stay.
And that old body of yours? It's gone. ("Just like your ability to stay up all night and feel fresh the next day," Watts explains.)
This charade we keep up of somehow expecting to snap back to perfection — or really, anywhere close to it — only causes our self-esteem to take a hit in ways we never thought possible. And when you think about it, she argues, we'd never expect this of men.
"Sheesh, I’d love my husband to bounce back post birth too, but he ain’t and no one is telling him he should," Watts writes. "The reality is that’ll he’ll never be the same either. We either [bear] the scars on the outside or feel the changes on the inside. Not one person has walked out or been wheeled out of birth the same as they went in. We except we can just go back to our past selves as we cradle our future."
How true this is.
In the end, there's really only one option, really. And it's both simple and incredibly hard, all at once.
"Embrace the what the heck you have," Watts continues, and "if you don’t like it, fix it. With the right mindset you could love the person you are right now, and if someone’s telling you differently — do you really need that?"
This transition into liking the new you isn't quick or easy — far from it, in fact. But it's necessary work that'll make you feel better right down to your soul.
Praise for the mom of four's message has been flooding in left and right, racking up more than 31k likes.
"Thanks for speaking up and normalizing what so many of us mums can relate with after kids," wrote one commenter. "I have a overhang, loads of stretchies and as much as I try and come to terms with it, accept my new bod, someone pops up ‘bouncing back’ flawless after 6 weeks."
Others admitted that even though they wouldn't trade their kids for the world, every day is a struggle in the self-love department.
"I wish I could love myself like this," one woman wrote. "I can’t even look at myself naked in a mirror after 5 kids, I damn sure couldn’t take a pic. You’re who I want to be when I grow up."
"I was LITERALLY complaining to my husband that [I] work out so much & still am unhappy with my body … to open Instagram and see is EXACTLY what I needed RIGHT NOW!!!" added another woman. "You’re inspiring."
Many also expressed a similar kind of outrage over "flawless" Instagram moms who promote an image of unattainable perfection.
"YES," chimed in one mom. "WHY do we live in a society where it’s some kind of achievement to have a baby but not look like you’ve ever had a baby??????"
(Ain't that the million dollar question.)
So thanks, Mel Watts, for yet again keeping it real — and reminding us that what we've got is beautiful in its own right. In fact, it's pretty damn incredible.
