“Muffin Tops Are the New Black”: What All Women Can Learn from One Mom’s Body Confidence

Muffin Top Ode
Muffin Top Ode

No matter how many crunches you do, that bulge doesn't go away. Even if we've lost the baby weight.

Beneath the Spanks, the self-loathing and the shame exists a little mound (some bigger than others, yes) of soft, squishy muffin-top-ness that marks the stretchy path of pregnancy. We're told we can work it off and that we can have our bodies back. (Or maybe even better, new rockin' bod than what we possessed before!)

Related: What post-baby bellies really look like

But then, somewhere down the road, usually during the toddler years, many of us are faced with a body that just isn't ever going to be the same, and we (hopefully) start to see the scars, the marks and the muffin tops as signs of being a warrior.

It's an amazing, physical testament to the miracle that is growing and birthing new life.

You guys? These muffin tops are a real drag.

Not so much in their appearance, but in everything they represent when it comes to what we aren't "supposed" to be and what we're not "supposed to look like."

I'm happy to report that more and more mothers -- mothers who are still WOMEN -- are becoming increasingly comfortable with all the stripes of motherhood their new bodies bear. Because that is precisely what it's all about -- nothing is ever going to be the same after having kids. Our bodies, our brains, our everything is forever changed, and it all goes along much more happily if we can learn to accept that instead of continually trying to make our bodies and our brains go back to the way they used to be.

Essentially, muffin tops are the new black. But don't take my word for it. Watch Erin Keaney (below) bust out her lyrical genius, using humor to convey an undeniable message and the underlying truths that should speak to us all -- truths I could do well to remember a little more often.

Moms, please join me in repeating after Keaney:

"The next time you wave your hands in the air,
Don't be shy, let it fly, there's no need to be scared
Your muffin top just wants to come out
There's nothing wrong, sing this song, then start to shout

Bounce, carbohydrate, bounce
My muffin top
Bounce, carbohydrate, bounce"

As Today Moms notes:

"A TODAY/AOL survey of 2,000 adults and 200 teens found that 60 percent of women think negative thoughts about their bodies regularly, and 57 percent of moms worry about passing on their body image issues to their children. And Keaney is right, girls do notice those impossibly flat tummies on the supermarket tabloids: 80 percent of teen girls say (they) compare themselves to celebrity images."

We all know this without even looking at the stats. I know my toddler daughter watches me get dressed, watches how I look at myself in the mirror and soaks up every little and big thing that I do and say. So, I tell myself I'm beautiful in the mirror, especially when she's watching. I do silly and self-directed things about loving my body, and sometimes we do it together. You bet I don't want to pass on unhealthy, body-and-food-related obsessions and unrealistic expectations. While I may want her to have a strong knowledge base about healthy food and a natural (perhaps learned) desire to be physically fit and strong … above all else I want her to love herself and focus on her emotional and mental well-being.

But first, I have to actively want that for myself.

Essentially, I do. The work is constant and life-long. And sometimes I waver (don't we all?).

I will admit that the more women who like Keaney come forward in these creative, humorous and thought-provoking ways, the more comfortable I become in my own skin.

I feel like I'm part of a growing tribe -- a new generation of BEAUTIFUL moms, all shapes and sizes, who do and say things that our mothers fought for us to say, who aren't holding in their stomachs to match the expectation of their generation and so many generations before.

Without further adieu … fellow mom-tribe, EMBRACE THY MOTHERLOAD!

-Photo Credit: YouTube

-By: Selena Burgess

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