In those first few weeks after having a baby, your mind is filled with a lot of things. Things like these: When was the baby's last feeding? Did I track her last poop? Did I shower today? Those kinds of thoughts are all normal (and common) for any new mom. You know what shouldn't be on your mind, immediately after giving birth? How fast you're gonna lose the baby weight. At least, that's something Kasha Rebant didn't have on her mind until a newsletter arrived in her inbox that threw her for a curveball.
The new mom laid it all out in a bold Instagram post resonating with new moms.
"Two and a half weeks ago I gave birth to my third baby," the Kansas mom wrote in a post that has since gone viral. "Two and a half weeks ago I received multiple emails from Parents.com about 'shedding the baby weight' and 'getting your pre-baby body back."Â
Oof.
Needless to say, Rebant was not expecting the email, and certainly didn't appreciate feeling like she should already be thinking about slimming down.
After all, she'd just had a baby. Her body had just gone through nine months of pregnancy — for the third time — and then completed the awe-inspiring act of GIVING BIRTH.
She needed a minute. She deserved a minute. And she certainly didn't think she'd be getting a tap on the shoulder from diet culture, pressuring her to "bounce back."
Rebant added that after struggling with her postpartum body image in the past, she "swore" she wouldn't let herself get caught up in it again.
The emails, however, left her feeling triggered in ways she wasn't expecting, and she just couldn't keep quiet about it.Â
"What has this world come to that moms are pressured to look or feel a certain way immediately after having a baby?" she wrote in her post. "Why does one think that postpartum automatically means dieting and weight loss? Itâs tragic for the mental health of moms today and Iâm definitely not immune.
"So instead of lingering over those emails or the weight I see on the scale, Iâm choosing to embrace this body that God used to bring my babies into my family. Letâs just forget the naysayers and rock those pregnancy jeans as long as possible because life isnât meant to be lived that way," she continued.
"Yes, these are still my pregnancy jeans and I have zero intention of even stepping foot into my pre-pregnancy clothes anytime soon," she added. "And you better believe my body is much stronger now than it was before, stretch marks and all."
A lot of people applauded the mom's honesty.
"Love this!!!" wrote one mom. "Enjoy those sweet babies and EVERYTHING that comes with that. Life is too short for wasted energy on being someone that meets everyone elseâs 'standard' but ignoring what makes you feel happy!"
"Thank you for writing this," someone else added. "Us mommas have much more important things to worry about than whether we are wearing maternity jeans, yesterday's yoga pants, or pre-baby clothes!"
Speaking with CafeMom, Rebant opened up about what compelled her to write the post.
"When I became a mother, I recognized for the first time the importance of togetherness. Motherhood is not meant to be navigated alone," she says.
"We all experience so many of the same emotions, so I wanted to share my struggles of postpartum motherhood with others who can relate. Iâm passionate about sharing transparently the issues I deal with day to day, so maybe even just one other woman knows sheâs not alone. Postpartum body image is only a fraction of the things mothers deal with behind closed doors."
Like so many women, Rebant says she struggled in her relationship with her own body from a young age.
"To the point where I was scared of raising girls because I wasnât sure how Iâd be able to guide them on a different path of self acceptance," she tells CafeMom.Â
"But then I was blessed with my first daughter, and I quickly learned the true strength of a woman," the mother of three continues. "My body was made for far more than fitting a mold that society sets for me. I now get to show my daughters (and my son) that strength is more than physique. My strength comes from long sleepless nights, and hard hours of disciplining small children, exhausting days of pressing on even when I donât feel like it. My body is amazing because itâs done all of those things and continued to press on."
She says the response to her Instagram post so far has been positive and "overwhelming."
"I had overwhelming support after my initial post all from women who have walked the same struggles with postpartum body image and the pressures we face," Rebant shared. "Many women chose to reach out privately as well."
Although she doesn't want to knock parenting or women's lifestyle sites that are trying to bring women valuable information, she does think there are other places to focus their efforts that would do a whole lot more good in the long run.
"I would love to see more content about postpartum mental health, self-care, living a health lifestyle, etc.," she tells us. "I wish it wasnât so taboo to talk about a womanâs mental health, especially in motherhood."
So what if she doesn't fit into her prebaby jeans anymore? And so what if none of us do?
"I can go to bed at night knowing that Iâve given all of myself to love these little babes with all that I am," she says. "I choose to focus on what my body is doing for me rather than what size or shape it is."
At the end of the day, that's really all any of us should be focusing on, whether or not we've just had a baby. Embracing the image we see in the mirror — and having love and respect for it at every size — is so much easier said than done, but it's certainly not impossible to achieve. And getting to that happy place of love and acceptance should always be our goal.
