The journey towards gratitude in my body

Have you ever stood in the shower and whispered "thank you" to your body? A simple act that truly transformed my relationship with my postpartum body after having three C-sections and breastfeeding journeys.

Becoming a mother means undergoing remarkable transformations—growing a human, birthing them, possibly breastfeeding, and then settling into a new normal that never quite matches what came before. These physical changes happen alongside the emotional whirlwind of motherhood, often leaving us disconnected from our bodies during a time when we need their strength most.

Fresh from completing my third and final breastfeeding journey with my son Henry, I'm navigating yet another transition. The duality strikes me: celebration of this milestone along with the vulnerability of relearning my body once again. Through these transitions, I've developed a practice of embodied gratitude that began awkwardly in the shower—eyes closed, whispering appreciation to my C-section scar, my breasts that nourished three babies, my arms strong enough to hold growing children. This practice gradually expanded until I could face the mirror and thank my body without flinching.

The magic happens through repetition love. Like learning any new skill, practicing gratitude for your body becomes easier each time. Starting wherever you feel comfortable—eyes closed in the shower if mirrors feel too challenging, whispers if speaking aloud seems strange. In today's episode, I leave you with a challenge in the shower tomorrow morning. Close your eyes, place your hands on different parts of your body, and whisper "thank you" for all they've done.

Your body may never be the same as before motherhood, but it has carried you through extraordinary transformations—and that deserves celebration.

Thank you so much for listening in! If anything in this episode resonated with you, it would mean the world to me if you left a review or shared it with a friend or on social media.

And don't forget to tag me so I can personally thank you for helping me get the word out.

Follow and chat with me on Instagram:

Podcast account - @thrivelikeamother.podcast

Personal account - @thrive.empowered

Sending you light and love always!

Episode Transcript

Ebony Fleming (00:00):
Hey love, I'm Ebony and welcome to Thrive Like
a Mother.
On this podcast.
We're scared for our truth, butthat fear is what fuels us to
truly live in it.
You're in the right place ifyou feel like you're stuck in
survivor mode and you're readyto step into who you were truly

(00:20):
meant to be.
I'll share resources and toolsI use daily to help you in your
journey towards a healthiermindset and to break the wheel
of survival.
The journey may not be easy,but you won't have to face it
alone.
I'm a mama of three, healingday by day from past trauma, and
I'm on a mission to build alife I've always dreamed of but

(00:42):
never thought was possible.
So, love, if you're ready tobelieve in what's possible,
let's link arms and thrivetogether.
Does anyone else take time tosay thank you to their body in
the shower?
No, it can't just be me.

(01:04):
Y'all, it can't just be me.
Okay, welcome to another episodeof the Thrive Like a Mother
podcast, and I really want tojump right in and get into
today's topic, because it issomething that we don't talk
about very often.
But I feel like Something thatwe don't talk about very often,

(01:25):
but I feel like we should, andit is about those transition
moments in motherhood that we gothrough.
Obviously, you know thetransition of growing an entire
human inside of your body andthen, once that little one is
here, you're going throughanother transition, another
transformation.

(01:46):
If you've breastfed, that'sanother.
You know another transformationthat your body is going through
.
But like, seriously y'all, asyou're going through these
transformations and thesetransitions, are you taking time
or have you recently shown somegratitude to your body

(02:09):
Personally?
Y'all, as a mom of three, stillas well to say that sometimes,
a mama of three, my body hasgone through so much it really
has.
And I want to talk aboutsomething that's a little bit
more closer to home for me rightnow, because Henry and I just

(02:30):
finished our last and finalbreastfeeding journey.
I breastfed Olivia for a fewweeks, I breastfed Jade for over
a year and Henry and I have nowsurpassed our year.
And while it is a verycelebratory moment for me, on
the other side of that, theduality is that I'm also going

(02:50):
through a time again inmotherhood where I am relearning
my body, I'm allowing it tosettle again, I'm allowing it to
transform into the next versionof who I am.
And so, really, during the timethat I was breastfeeding Henry.
I made sure that I did not beatmyself up about you know what

(03:16):
my body looked like during thattime, because my body during
that time period was basicallyin service to someone else.
And I feel like it's such abeautiful thing, right, when you
are pregnant, you're in serviceto growing this tiny little
human.
You're sharing your body, yourlife force with this tiny little

(03:37):
person for a few months andthen, once they're born, you are
still, you know, if you chooseto breastfeed, you're still
sharing your life force withthem.
You're nourishing them in theway that they need until they're
able to start eating like solidfoods, and so it's.
It's a big deal, y'all it is.

(04:00):
And it can be tough to look atyour body and you know, as
things are happening so fast andsay, oh man, you know, I don't
really look how I used to, orlike how can you connect with
who you are right now, in thatmoment, and then again when you

(04:23):
transition or transform into thenext version of you, and I feel
like a big part of that isgiving gratitude to your body,
is giving gratitude to your body.
It's like, as you think aboutit, you go from being, you know,
getting rounder and rounder.

(04:47):
You know, as you grow thishuman and you spend months
embracing, becoming bigger oryou struggle with it, like some
moms do.
I know with Olivia I definitelystruggled with getting the baby
bump and going through thattransformation.
It's a mind trip, y'all.
It is a mind trip once you havethat baby, to look at your body
right after delivery it.

(05:09):
You know there's so manyemotions and things involved and
I think a piece that we aremissing.
Yes, the baby is here.
Yes, there's so many thingsthat you now need to do, but I
honestly wish that mamas wouldtake more time to really sit

(05:34):
with what their body hasaccomplished, to really sit in
gratitude for all that has takenthem through Y'all.
There was a point, um, I want tosay maybe during my pregnancy
with Jade, and I realized, hey,I'm going through this

(05:55):
transformation again.
It was, I think, during thattime when I really accepted that
my body was never going to bethe same as it was before, ever,
ever again.
And you know this goes for evenwhen you're not pregnant.
Your body goes throughtransformations.
But pregnancy and being amother is such a major

(06:19):
transformation that you have togo through some type of
processing of what you haveexperienced, you have to try
your best to get to some pointof acceptance that things are
never going to be the same again.
And although that can be hard,it's also beautiful.

(06:40):
And so I started to when I wasin the shower and this was
really, really tough becauseI've had three C-sections y'all.
But when I was in the showerand it's really it was really
tough, like right after I had mybabies, because, you know, the
scar is still there, it's stillfresh.

(07:02):
But I tried my hardest to atleast while I was in the shower,
you know, no matter what I wasfeeling, to at least say thank
you.
Thank you for giving me thesethree babies, thank you for
being able to undergo threesurgeries and heal three times.

(07:24):
Three surgeries and heal threetimes.
Thank you for, you know, mychest, for allowing me to
nourish these three babies thatI've birthed.
And what I started to realizeis, more and more as I started
these kind of micro exercises inthe shower of just giving

(07:47):
gratitude to my body.
I worked my way up.
I worked my way up from in theshower to actually facing myself
in the mirror and saying thankyou to the different parts of me
.
And what happens is you start to, every time you are looking at

(08:09):
your body, you start to accept,like where you are now, be
thankful for all that your bodyhas taken you through and all
that it will take you through.
And it's like, it's likepracticing.
It's like practicing a new move, y'all.
It's like practicing.
It's like practicing a new move, y'all.
Every single time you practiceit gets easier.

(08:31):
Every single time it getseasier to say thank you to your
body, thank you to your legs, toyour knees, to your arms for
their strength to hold thosetiny little people, because they
are heavy, they are.
The more that you do it, y'all,the more that you do it, even

(08:51):
when it's uncomfortable in thevery beginning, like I said,
like right after I had my littleones was the hardest.
But if it's that difficult tolook in the mirror, or at least
look at yourself, start in theshower, you can even close your
eyes.
Honestly, y'all, and just Imean you're washing anyway,

(09:12):
right?
So, as you're washing, justtake a moment, even if you can't
say it out loud just yet.
Practicing thank you in yourhead.
Next shower, practice sayingthank you out loud, even if you
have to whisper it, because themore that you say thank you, the
more that you practice sittingin the gratitude of all that

(09:34):
your body has done for you, themore you can get to that
acceptance stage that your bodyis absolutely phenomenal, that
your body is something thatyou're going to have for life
and it's going to go throughchanges and you'll get to a

(09:57):
point where it won't feel asuncomfortable anymore to say
thank you or to say, eventually,you are beautiful, you are
extraordinary, you are magicalbecause you are, you are, and so
, mamas, I want to leave youwith that today and a challenge

(10:19):
the next time you're in theshower, like I said, even if you
have to close your eyes, goahead and do that, but close
your eyes and really start topractice gratitude for your body
, really start to try to get toan acceptance stage that, yes,
your body may never be the same,but it has done and will

(10:43):
continue to do so so much foryou, has done and will continue
to do so.
So much for you.
Thank you so much for listening.
Love, if anything in today'sepisode resonated with you,
share it with your bestie orshare it on social media and tag
me so we can chat about it, asalways, sending you light and
love and remember you are worthy, you are enough and you deserve

(11:06):
to thrive.