Mum shares INCREDIBLE 6-month 'tree of life' stretch mark journey
From 40 weeks along to 6 months post baby, mum Kristin Niemi shows her tum's changing stretch marks in all their glory...
Stretch marks are inevitable for many of us – even those of us who don’t have kids!
But, of course, pregnancy is prime time for those red or silvery white lines to appear on our hips, sides, thighs, bums and ever-growing tums. Basically, any part of us that has skin ?
Mum of 2 Kristin Niemi, a super popular Instagrammer known as @studioartyoga, has been proactive in documenting her post-baby tum stretch marks since giving birth for the 2nd time.
And what really struck us about the pics when we scrolled on past them, was the journey her body's gone on in the weeks and months following.
Above, you can see her bump at 40 weeks and her stretch marks just one week after giving birth.
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“#40weekspregnant and #1weekpostpartum (without and with #yogababy!)” she wrote beside it. “My stretch marks are fading, my belly is shrinking, and my love for my boys is overwhelming!”
Side note: Kristin’s commenters were obsessed with the pattern of them – many suggested they looked just like the tree of life ?
And here, you can see how they’re getting on 74 days after giving birth…
And again, at 6 months post-baby...
"Going back to the photo where it all started ??" she captioned this one. "A photo of joy, of growth, of discomfort, of #stretchmarks, of a rash, of 40 long but fun weeks of baking a baby! And in comparison on the right, a #happymama at #6months #postpartum.
"In both photos, I’m so proud of my body. Of how it grew to accommodate life on the left and how it’s now stronger than ever so I can pick up my big boys on the right!
"The photo on the left has been reposted a lot here on Instagram, and it has sparked a lot of chatter. Some positive—seeing the #treeoflife in my #babybump or saying it’s a celebration of motherhood. But some negative—saying it’s gross or photoshopped.
"This is my reality, this is my progress, this is my journey. And this is what a lot of other amazing mamas’ journeys look like."
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Here at MFM HQ, we do our best to subscribe to the ‘love your tiger stripes’ way of thinking, but we’re also pretty realistic: any change to our bodies that’s out of our control can be a shock to the system.
So, we found these pics of Kristin looking fab and embracing her stretchmarks 100% to be really powerful and also very inspiring ✊
Thanks to Kristin for the pics! Visit her on Instagram and on her website here
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