My dear friend Phumla Madondo read a post shared by Beyonce in her latest Vogue cover shoot and thought of me. She encouraged me to share it on my blog and I immediately agreed after I read it. I spoke about the acceptance of our changed bodies after giving birth to miracles, and Beyonce speaks exactly about this. Beyonce spoke about her baby tum AKA FUPA after rumors that she was pregnant again. It is sad how we expect celebrity moms to snap back perfectly after giving birth. Beyonce’s story resonated with me a lot because one of my main objectives with my blog is to show women that we all go through the same things during and after pregnancy, good or bad.

Here is what she had to say:

“After the birth of my first child, I believed in the things society said about how my body should look. I put pressure on myself to lose all the baby weight in three months and scheduled a small tour to assure I would do it. Looking back, that was crazy. I was still breastfeeding when I performed the Revel shows in Atlantic City in 2012. After the twins, I approached things very differently.

I was 218 pounds the day I gave birth to Rumi and Sir. I was swollen from toxemia and had been on bed rest for over a month. My health and my babies’ health were in danger, so I had an emergency C-section. We spent many weeks in the NICU.

My husband was a soldier and such a strong support system for me. I am proud to have been a witness to his strength and evolution as a man, a best friend, and a father. I was in survival mode and did not grasp it all until months later. Today I have a connection to any parent who has been through such an experience. After the C-section, my core felt different. It had been major surgery. Some of your organs are shifted temporarily, and in rare cases, removed temporarily during delivery. I am not sure everyone understands that. I needed time to heal, to recover. During my recovery, I gave myself self-love and self-care, and I embraced being curvier. I accepted what my body wanted to be. After six months, I started preparing for Coachella. I became vegan temporarily, gave up coffee, alcohol, and all fruit drinks. But I was patient with myself and enjoyed my fuller curves. My kids and husband did, too.

I think it’s important for women and men to see and appreciate the beauty in their natural bodies. That’s why I stripped away the wigs and hair extensions and used little makeup for this shoot.

To this day my arms, shoulders, breasts, and thighs are fuller. I have a little mommy pouch, and I’m in no rush to get rid of it. I think it’s real. Whenever I’m ready to get a six-pack, I will go into beast zone and work my ass off until I have it. But right now, my little FUPA and I feel like we are meant to b”.

For one, I don’t feel the need for her explaining herself, but a big part of me is happy she spoke out about it. I am happy because I saw a wave of women sharing their stories on social media; If Beyonce can embrace her mom tum, so can I. What a time to be alive 🙂

 

Thank you for sharing this journey with me 🙂