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Health See other Health Articles Title: Having a Baby Ruined My Bikini Body Having a Baby Ruined My Bikini Body Erin Zammett Ruddy April 20, 2015 Having a Baby Ruined My Bikini Body Erin Zammett Ruddy has sworn off wearing a bikini after having three children. (Photo: Erin Zammett Ruddy) I just returned from a vacation in Florida with my husband and three children, ages 7, 5, and 18 months. While getting ready for the beach each day, I couldn’t help thinking about all the moms I see (on the beach and more recently, in my newsfeed) who feel confident wearing bikinis despite whatever pregnancy did to their bodies. You see, I don’t wear bikinis. In fact, I will never wear a bikini again. STORY: New Moms Post Amazingly Honest Photos — No Airbrushing or Filters I have an abundance of stretch marks and I don’t want to flaunt a single one of them - despite the encouragement from moms who have gone viral proclaiming that we should love our "flaws" because they're a sign that we were lucky enough to have kids. I’m not knocking those women who feel comfortable strutting their post-baby stuff on the beach. More power to them. But I’d like to give voice to those who will be wearing one-pieces — preferably with that suck-in material around the mid-section—from here on out. That’s OK, too! You’re allowed! You can still look great in a one piece! You’re also allowed to be a little peeved by the irreversible damage (yes, I called it damage) caused by pregnancy. It does not mean you love your children—or yourself—any less, I promise. STORY: Why I Hated Being Pregnant image Ruddy in a bikini 10 years ago on her honeymoon – before having children. (Photo: Erin Zammett Ruddy) Maybe I’m not that evolved but I don’t regard my stretch marks as motherhood “stripes" I’ve earned as one woman said or “beauty marks” as Alyssa Milano generously calls them. Good for them but I think of my stretch marks as U.G.L.Y., and (sorry mom) proof that my genes failed me. I have friends with multiple children who gained 80 pounds per pregnancy — even those who carried twins — and they don’t have one squiggly line on their bellies. I have about 100. And although I’m back to my fighting weight, my belly remains a little bulgy. I realize sit-ups will help and they’re on my to-do list but in the meantime, when I stand naked in the mirror, I don’t think, ‘Wow, what an amazing body, you produced three wonderful children.’ I think, ‘$&*!, I wish I didn’t have THIS (grabs gut) going on.“ Then I quickly move on to: ‘Hey, you have great arms and nice legs,’ because I believe in giving credit where it’s due. Don’t get me wrong — I am proud of my body. I pushed three kids out of it (the last two without epidurals) and I recently completed a half-marathon, something I never thought would happen. And I’m a 13-year cancer survivor. But, I’m sorry, I’m not particularly proud of my stretch marks as some moms seem to want me to be. I promise I don’t sit around feeling depressed about my belly but I’m not gonna write it a love song, either. Does that make me a traitor to moms? I sure hope not. I’ve worked for women’s magazines and I have two sisters and two daughters so I am all for promoting positive body image. But sometimes it goes overboard and becomes body-love bullying. You can still have a healthy body image without embracing every single inch. Am I losing sleep over never being able to wear a bikini again? No. Do I complain in front of my children or hide my belly from my husband? Definitely not. Do I like the way I look in my one-piece photo? Yes. Probably more than I like that bikini shot. I’m on my way to being in the best shape of my life—wobbly, corduroyed abdomen aside. I run, I spin, I eat well, and I feel strong and healthy. But you’re never gonna catch me flaunting my “flaws.” I’d rather tuck them into a pair of Spanx, thank you very much. If you have post-pregnancy stretch marks, loose skin, or a belly bulge and you still rock a bikini, go you. But if you choose not to, that’s OK, too. I feel you. I recently signed up for my second half-marathon and when I told my 7-year-old son, he offered this gem: "Maybe the running will turn all those lines on your stomach into just six lines like a six-pack, mom!” Fat chance. Poster Comment: Oh, well. ;) Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: BTP Holdings (#0)
Thank you very much for sharing this story of serious global import.
Who the hell is this lady anyway?
You tell me. Hope she caught my irony -- not everybody does around here, by any means.
She is right of course. Stretch marks and budging bellies are not attractive. Of course just aging 10 years is going to greatly damage her looks. Pretty teens and women in there very early twenties look great in a Brazilian bikini but after that they look better with more clothes on and swimsuits that cover more of their body.
I remember modesty and proportion.
Any women in her right mind and any knowledge of life knows this and the women who do take care of themselves after birth. I even knew this and I am male.
Maybe they should volunteer for an episode of "Naked and Afraid". LOL "When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one." Edmund Burke
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