For many new moms, coming to terms with your postpartum body can be a difficult journey. Besides looking different, your joints and other parts of your body could feel different, too.
While there is a lot of pressure for women to “bounce back” after having a baby, one Instagram influencer has another take on postpartum bodies that might be controversial to some and inspirational to others.
Nicole Knight is an Australian Instagram influencer and mom of two.
She has a two-year-old son named Aspen, and recently gave birth to her daughter, Zephi in October 2018.
Nicole documented her pregnancy and changing body on Instagram.
Here’s a photo of her full-term with Zephi. Thanks to social media, we’re seeing a lot more moms sharing all aspects of pregnancy with the world and it’s helping start important conversations.
A few days after giving birth, Nicole shared this postpartum photo.
It’s hard to believe that she had a baby in there only a few days ago! What’s important to remember is that every body reacts to pregnancy and birth differently.
Some women return to their pre-pregnancy weight quickly, and for others, it can take longer. Whatever is healthy and best for you and your baby is perfect.
At two-weeks postpartum, Nicole shared this photo of herself with a flat tummy.
Nicole’s photos aren’t meant to shame any new moms out there. Between the lack of sleep and recovering from birth, it’s unrealistic to think that many new moms look like this so soon after giving birth.
However, Nicole does want to inspire other new moms with her pictures.
“I am proud of the changes my body has gone through. I shared the photo to hopefully inspire other mums, and show them it’s okay to still put themselves first and look after their body during and post-pregnancy,’ she told The Daily Mail.
Just because Nicole’s Instagram feed and postpartum photos look picture-perfect, that’s not the whole story.
Like all moms, Nicole’s body has gone through permanent changes. She revealed that she is slowly gaining back her fitness and was still above her pre-pregnancy weight.
She’s also gotten real about her post-baby body with a raw video of her loose skin.
“After carrying two babies I still have a lot of excess skin – and it will most likely stick around forever. A lil bit of excess skin for two beautiful babies is a pretty fair trade,” she wrote on Instagram.
Recently, Nicole started a 12-week fitness challenge to help her meet her postpartum fitness goals.
She shared on Instagram that her goal isn’t to lose weight but to build her fitness levels and focus on her health.
At the end of the day, new moms should focus on being healthy and not what the scale says. Take Nicole’s advice and remember to take care of yourselves, mamas!