‘It’s something you’re not prepared for’: New mum, 27, shares how her stomach has changed in the hours and days since giving birth to highlight the truth about ‘bouncing back’
- Australian blogger Ellie Bullen, 27, is best known for releasing vegan cookbooks
- The new mother from Queensland gave birth to her son Bowie Watson on July 12
- She decided to share some images she took of her body immediately after
- And now, one week later, she has posted a picture of her swollen belly again
- Mothers have praised Ellie for being so open about the postpartum experience
Food blogger Ellie Bullen has shared photos of her postpartum body in the hours and days after giving birth to her first child to highlight what the process is really like.
The 27-year-old, who is best known for selling vegan cookbooks and sharing luxury travel pictures on Instagram, brought her son Bowie Watson into the world on July 12.
Ellie, who lives on the Gold Coast with her husband Alex Watson, is in no rush to ‘bounce back’ after labour and has been enjoying the first few days of taking care of her newborn.
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Australian food blogger Ellie Bullen has shared photos of her postpartum body in the hours and days after giving birth to her first child (pictured at 34 weeks pregnant)
The 27-year-old brought her son Bowie Watson into the world on July 12 (pictured left at 40 weeks and right one week postpartum)
‘I wanted to celebrate one week postpartum by recreating the shoot I did when we were 40 weeks pregnant,’ she captioned a recent social media collage.
‘It’s mind blowing what the body can do and how much it can change in just one week.’
She called on followers to look through the ‘real’ and ‘raw’ images of what her body looked like two hours, two days, four days and one week post birth.
‘I wanted to share because I think it’s something as a first time mum that you’re not really prepared for,’ she said.
She called on followers to look through the ‘real’ and ‘raw’ images of what her body looked like two hours (left), two days (right), four days and one week post birth
‘I wanted to share because I think it’s something as a first time mum that you’re not really prepared for,’ she said (pictured at 39 weeks along)
‘We’re so used to seeing images of women with snatched waists just after having a baby.
‘Personally it made me feel a little queazy feeling my squishy belly in those first few days and I even had a nightmare on the first night post birth that someone was chasing me trying to poke it.’
Ellie explained that the uterus takes six weeks to shrink back to its normal size and, stimulated by oxytocin released when breastfeeding, you can ‘actually feel a dull “period pain” during feeds’.
‘It’s fascinating to see it change daily,’ she said.
‘We’re so used to seeing images of women with snatched waists just after having a baby,’ she said (pictured left after four days and right a week after birth)
While Ellie’s belly was noticeably smaller than it was at the 40-week mark, it was nonetheless still pronounced, something she is embracing (pictured at 29 weeks pregnant)
While Ellie’s belly is noticeably smaller than it was at the 40-week mark, it is still pronounced, something she is embracing.
She has been wearing postpartum compression shorts to help with her 6cm abdominal separation, and is trying to go on 10 minute walks outside every day.
Fans of the food writer’s who are mothers themselves praised her for being so open about the recovery process.
‘So cool. Don’t you love the human body? It’s an absolute miracle. You look amazing mama,’ one woman said.
Fans of the food writer’s who are mothers themselves praised her for being so open about the recovery process (pictured with her husband Alex and their dog Oatley at 40 weeks pregnant)
‘This is glorious! The woman’s body is truly magic. I’ve learned to love the after birth marshmallow stomach and all. The fact that you can grow a human, house that human and then feed that human after they are born is remarkable,’ said another.
A third added: ‘Thank you for sharing! I remember four days after having a baby I was so confused why I couldn’t fit in even any of my “fat clothes”. Media gave me no preparation that your belly sticks around for a bit after having a baby’.
Ellie, who is the founder of The Wholesome Store, had her twin sister Lauren take videos of her in active labour to share on her YouTube channel at a later date.