This Mom's Honest Post About Not Recognizing Her Postpartum Body Is *So* Refreshing

When you go through a pregnancy, your body goes through a lot of changes. This is to be expected — you are growing a human in your uterus for nine months, after all. Even after you give birth, your body doesn't bounce back right away and changes do happen. A lot of people can learn from the honesty of this mom who says she "barely" recognizes her body after giving birth to her daughter a week earlier. And images like these can help bring awareness to these changes.

Australian fitness trainer Emily Skye knows a thing or two about bodies because she spends a lot of time getting them into shape. The online fitness guru has developed quite the following on her Instagram for her tips, tricks, and ability to keep fit. But one thing that Skye doesn't hold back on is her honesty with her millions of followers. On Dec. 18, Skye gave birth to a daughter, Mia, as she shared on Instagram. And a little less than a week later, Skye got real about how her body was adjusting after giving birth.

In the photo, Skye poses with Mia, without holding back or disguising her beautiful postpartum body. In the photo's caption, Skye opened up about just how difficult "bouncing back" really is and how difficult it will be for her in the next few month. But she's not concerned about that right now because time with her new baby girl is way more important to her.

Skye emphasized that every woman's postpartum body is different in the photo's caption and how that is completely OK. Skye wrote:

So many people told me I would "bounce right back" after giving birth like a lot of other fit women do. - Well that's definitely not the case for me! It's only five days after I gave birth to Mia and I look about 6 or so months pregnant.

But despite the fact that people look to her for inspiration get fit, Skye was real with her followers about her priorities and the fact that they have changed since becoming a mother a week ago. Skye continued in the caption:

I can tell I'm going to have a LOT of hard work ahead of me to get fit and strong again which I KNOW I can do but it's not my priority right now - spending time with my daughter is. Getting my "body back" can take a back seat for the time being...I'll get there in a realistic time frame and refuse to put pressure on myself to get back there.

Skye's words are definitely full of wisdom. Every woman — from celebrities, to fitness gurus, to your friends and family members who have given birth — have probably experienced some pressure to get into shape. But after giving birth, like Skye stated, the only priority should be yourself and the person you gave birth to. Although new moms might not recognize themselves in the mirror, that change is symbolic of the new mother they've become.

Throughout the duration of her pregnancy, according to FitPregnancy, Skye had been honest about how the pregnancy was (not so glamorously) affecting her body. On top of this, Skye was already aware while she was pregnant that "bouncing back" to her normally muscular self wouldn't be easy. Skye told FitPregnancy that she had to trust her body while she was pregnant and planned on doing the same postpartum:

It takes nine months to grow a baby so I'll take my time, and it'll take however long it takes! That said, I have a fitness business, so I do need to be in some short of shape. But for me, it's not about how I look. Other trainers get back into shape fast, but I think that's unrealistic. I'm not worried about having extra fat. I just want to feel strong. My baby is the most important thing to me right now — and making sure I'm a good mom.

Losing weight, especially after giving birth, takes time. One 2014 study found that it took new moms one year and seven months to return back to their pre-baby bodies, according to the Daily Mail. The more weight you gain while you're pregnant, according to Women's Health, the longer it will take to shed, and it can take anywhere from three months to a year.

Don't let these things intimidate you, but rather assure you that "bouncing back" to that pre-pregnancy weight is a process for everyone, including fitness gurus. The more that other women talk about this, the more they're doing to bring awareness to what real postpartum bodies look like.

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