I’m a mom – people call me a ‘bounce back queen’ but I’ll always have a belly and postpartum body, and that’s okay
AFTER having kids, moms face enormous pressure to “bounce back” and look the same as they did before giving birth.
That’s not realistic, one mom has said – she’ll always have a belly, and she’ll flaunt it proudly since it helped her carry her children.
As one half of the expert parenting duo Big Little Feelings, mom-of-two Kristin Gallant (@biglittlefeelings) focuses on uplifting fellow mothers.
In a recent video, Gallant got real about her post-baby body, showing off her stomach for the camera and challenging regressive ideas.
While Gallant posed in a long-sleeve top, captions on the screen appeared, highlighting compliments she had heard since giving birth.
“I can’t believe you just had a baby,” wrote one.
Another called her the “bounce back queen,” complete with a crown emoji.
Other parents couldn’t stop themselves from telling Gallant: “You look amazing.”
Envious moms even called her figure “postpartum body goals.”
Among all the envy, Gallant knew she needed to get real.
Lifting up her loose shirt and rolling down her leggings, she exposed her stomach.
“This is a ‘bounce back’ body too,” Gallant wrote in the caption.
Her stomach hung down over the waistband of her pants, and she caressed it, smiling gently.
“My body will forever look like I had a baby, and that’s ok,” she said in the caption.
She called on viewers to “Normalize the forever post-partum body.”
In the video description, she added a note to herself: “Thank you, body,” she wrote.
New parents and moms who’d been in the game for years all said they felt encouraged by Gallant’s honesty.
“Queen, thank you for normalizing this,” said a grateful woman.
Others were glad to be represented. “Finally, my post-baby body type,” another mom said.
“I feel seen and loved and ok for a bit,” one mom wrote.
She even saved the video, so she could “watch daily until it sticks.”
“I will forever have a mom body,” a woman declared. “I am a MOTHER!”
Several were grateful that Gallant pushed back on the harmful notions around “bouncing back” to a pre-pregnancy figure.
“Bodies don’t ‘go back’ after puberty,” a mom mused.
“Having a baby is no different. It’s development.”