Loving A Post-Baby Body

by Lisa Emmerich

When I mentioned that I was writing an article about learning to accept my body, my husband seemed embarrassed to admit he had noticed my recent wardrobe improvements.

“I notice your body more and more lately,” he said. “I look at you in what you’ve been wearing and see the girl I met in college—your breasts are smaller, your hips are a little thinner. It’s the body I fell in love with.”

Impressed by his sweetness, I wondered what he thought of the all the forms my body had taken over the course of two pregnancies. His response wasn’t especially profound: “Well, you had big boobs and I thought, ‘Whoa! Big boobs! I haven’t seen those in forever.’”

Today, the bathroom mirror no longer reflects the boyish figure it took me two decades to make peace with. Instead, it shows a mother’s body—either worked thin and tired from chasing children or bursting round and firm from growing them. But it’s mine. You will not find me turning tonight’s pot roast in lingerie—but you will find me at the local boutique. I’m the girl with the ponytail handing Goldfish to cherubic toddlers in a double stroller as I rifle through racks of stylish jeans and funky dresses that are just my size.