6 Postpartum Body Changes You Shouldn't Be Embarrassed By

Bodies change throughout life, that's just a fact. And that's no exception for women. One mother is bringing to light the biggest postpartum changes women can experience, and why they shouldn't feel bad about it. When DeeAnna Heavilin got pregnant for the first time, she wanted to learn as much about what to expect as possible, so she scoured the Internet to gather as much information as she could. She gained knowledge on everything from breastfeeding and bottle feeding to sleep training and co-sleeping. She even learned how to make postpartum pads. But what she didn't pay attention to were all the changes her body was about to experience. She was aware that she might get stretch marks and gain weight, but that was normal stuff. There was a more complicated realm she wasn't privy to. The feelings a woman may have on her body postpartum can truly affect their wellbeing. Learning to love your body for each and every change is extremely important, and this mother thinks it's necessary to make note of them so you're not only aware, but prepared. With that, here are six postpartum changes DeAnna wants to discuss:

1. "My belly button will literally never — without surgical intervention — be the same."

Despite the fact that DeAnna is nearly a year out from her last pregnancy, and 40 pounds thinner, she says that her belly button still has frowns. "The best way to describe what’s going on down there currently is to say it looks like a permanent frown face," she says. "My stomach has been stretched to its limits and deflated two times in the last two years, but this malfunction didn’t happen until after my second pregnancy. When Graham was two weeks old and I was brave enough to peek in the mirror for the first time, I was able to convince myself that once I lost some of the pregnancy weight, my belly button would open itself back up. Not the case."

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2. "My stomach legitimately feels — and looks — like cottage cheese."

DeAnna says that she eats well and works out often, but that hasn't changed the consistency of her stomach. Despite the weight loss and toning, it's just a strange truth. And, she admits that she can even feel her muscles beneath this cheese-like sensation.

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3. "The texture of my hair has changed."

"I used to be able to go through an entire body pump class sweating and pumping for over an hour, dry off and take my hair out of my ponytail, only to have it fall perfectly back into place. No need to brush or otherwise fuss with it," she says. Not anymore, however. She not only lost her thick and shiny hair, but it's growing in much more coarse, leaving her looking for the best techniques to eliminate frizz, and finding an affection for leave-in conditioner.

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4. "Boobs? I don’t even know where to start."

"Not only are they permanently two sizes bigger than before, they’re two sizes saggier. I have that much more surface area for stretch marks to cover." She says this won't be fixed without surgery, and that, though they are not bad, she does have stretch marks on her boobs that remind her of her dislike for breastfeeding.

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5. "I am the proud owner of two brand new love handles."

While DeAnna used to be confused by how people even got love handles, she now laughs at that thought. “Hahaha! Oh, naïve, never-been-pregnant-girl. You will know one day," she jokes as she admits she won't go up a pant size to eliminate the appearance of her love handles, but rather opts for a loose peasant blouse to cover them up.

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6. "Everything is bigger, including my feet."

"I do think one person warned me about this one, but I didn’t believe her. I spent over 20 years curating the perfect size-7 shoe collection," she says. "Within nine months, all that time and investment became as useless as my size-26 jeans (which are still in my closet for the day I lose the final 30 pounds I’ve put on since I was 16)." She knows that her feet won't miraculously shrink back down to the size she desires, and thus has given away every pair she owned before two years ago. She says it's better to face this fact, save your money and just get the shoes that work. Can you relate to any of these being a mother yourself? Source: Elite Daily [caption id="attachment_122206" align="alignleft" width="100"] @BodyRockTV[/caption] [caption id="attachment_122205" align="alignleft" width="100"] @BodyRockOfficial[/caption]