What Every Woman Can Learn From 1 Mom's "During" Postpartum Photo

Revie Schulz was about to post a "before and after" snapshot on Instagram before deciding against it. Instead of showing what she looked like at 41 weeks pregnant compared to what she looks like at nine months postpartum, she decided that these two photos didn't represent her full journey.

"Something just didn't feel right about that," she wrote on Instagram. "And although it was tough to share this middle image ( one month postpartum), I think it's very important in this case."

Revie, who is a trainer in Australia, realized just how naive she was to think that her body would look any different than it did after she gave birth to her baby, Lexington. "I really thought, being healthy, fit and young would mean I would be like so many other mama's I saw on Instagram who simply had baby and looked a little bloated afterwards," she wrote. "No hate towards mama's who experience this at all — we're ALL amazing. It just was not my reality."

Instead of pretending like her body just snapped back in shape and posting images that could potentially mislead other new moms, Revie decided to open up about her own personal struggle learning to love her new body. "To say I was shocked would be an understatement, I was confused, saddened even," she wrote. "On one hand I was on cloud nine with the best thing that's ever happened to me and on the other I was totally devastated about the mess and havoc it left on my body."

After her hard experience learning to accept her postpartum body, she wants others to realize that not all people embrace their new bodies quickly after birth, and they shouldn't be judged for it. "Yes, I focused on the miracle I had created and no it does not mean I'm ungrateful. I love my child more than anything, but I love my body too," she wrote. "It's OK to take time to adjust to these changes. So to help others realize the reality of some postpartum journeys, like my own, I added the during picture."

Revie wants people to understand that she is happy with her body and proud of what it was able to do during pregnancy — it just took time to get there. If she could go back in time and give her one-month postpartum self some advice, she'd say: