A mother has revealed photos of her post-partum bodyon her blog hours, days, weeks and months after giving birth to show not all mums tums simply "bounce back".
Julie Bhosale, a nutritionist from New Zealand gave birth to her second son on 17 January and wanted to document her body on the road to recovery after birth.
"I really struggled with all the body changes I went through after the birth of my first son. I felt a lot of pressure to get my body back - and expected that because I was fit and healthy it should be easy," Bhosale told HuffPost UK Parents.
"I also struggled to breastfeed my son and so my confidence in myself and has a women and as a mum was really low. So after the birth of my second son I did this as I thought it may help just one mum not feel so alone."
In each photo, the mother is holding her newborn son showing not only the changes her body is going through but how her son is growing, too.
She wears a T-shirt rolled up and is smiling in every photo.
Describing how she felt when she uploaded the photos, Bhosale said she was "very nervous".
"I was worried about being judged and people making negative comments - I am a mum after all.
"But I have just been blown away by all the comments, messages, feedback and sharing of the blog. I stay up late at night reading them all and many of them have brought me to tears."
Pre and post birth
Describing what it's like being a mother, Bhosale said : "I’m in love with my two wonderful children but I’m also overwhelmed, exhausted, unconfident and very, very down.
"You can feel so isolated and self-involved at this stage when everything seems to be a struggle, so it's great to be reminded that you’re not alone, that what you’re experiencing is normal and that it will get better."
Two days post-partum
The mum-of-two has been inundated with comments from other new mums since publishing the blog.
She told us one woman wrote and said: "Thank you so much. You have made me feel so much better.
"I have just had my first baby (he's one week old) and I feel my body is wrecked. Your positive story and reminder to have realistic expectations is inspirational. Thank you so much."
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Bhosale is determined to show that women should not feel alone after the birth of their baby experiencing the changes their body goes through.
One week post partum
The advice she told HuffPost UK Parents she would give to other mums would be: "You truly are beautiful and amazing for who you are (not how you look).
"You have incredible strength and love and put your children's needs ahead of your own every single day - love yourself for this sacrifice.
"Give yourself time, time to recover and find yourself again (your new self) after your baby and when you are ready (not
society says you are ready) you can start to repair your body."
Two weeks post-partum
Read Bhosale's blog post 'My Post-Partum Body' on her blog.