Brutally Honest Postpartum Journal Entries (a series)

Saturday May 31, 2025 || 27 Days Postpartum with Flora Kathleen

I have been resisting the urge to cover up and hide my new body. I don’t personally feel ashamed of my body, but I worry about how others perceive me and I feel I must stay hidden until my body doesn’t look obviously postpartum anymore.

I feel as if I don’t fit in and there is no place for me in everyday, normal society right now. I feel weak. I feel vulnerable. My body doesn’t look like it did pre-pregnancy and it doesn’t look like it did when I was pregnant a mere few weeks ago. I’m somewhere in-between.

I’m where there are no clothes that fit me right. Maternity clothes are too big, but my regular clothes are too small. Nobody is telling me how cute my baby belly is anymore. There is no one complimenting me on my appearance at all. I’m round and soft in places I wasn’t before. I have wounds that are healing and need special care and those wounds happen to hit right where my pants would hug my body.

Healing from surgery is a brand new terrain for me. I don’t know how to boldly and confidently take up space in this new body, but I’m trying to. I’m trying to do it unapologetically; without feeling the need to tell every stranger I encounter that I just had a baby 3 weeks ago and that I had to have major surgery “so please excuse the way my body looks”. How gross to even feel that way.

I want my children to know what a woman’s body looks like postpartum. Squishy swollen belly, deep stretch marks, nursing breasts, softness and all. No hiding or feeling ashamed, because my body just did something miraculous!