KYLEE AUSTIN: I think like any mom, I struggled with body image issues after giving birth.
KYLEE AUSTIN: You don’t come out of the hospital looking the same as you did before baby.
It just doesn’t happen.
KYLEE AUSTIN: My last bump photo was just very viral. It was so big from the twins that it sagged over my belly.
And, so some people had some amazing comments like, ‘Oh hell no, this is the saggiest belly I have ever seen.'
'Why would you post this disgusting pic of yourself and think that others are impressed?'
'Yikes! We are trying to forget that we saw this.’
KYLEE AUSTIN: It’s not sexy to have these scars hanging out. There is nothing sexy about stretch marks.
My opinion has changed about beauty since being pregnant.
KYLEE AUSTIN: Before I had my babies, I was actually a bikini competitor. So I had a pretty nice physique.
I was shocked when I heard I was having twins.
KYLEE AUSTIN: And the day of my induction, I was 38-weeks and after labouring for almost 24 hours, I ended
up receiving an emergency c-section. I was honestly the most scared I have ever been in my entire life.
KYLEE AUSTIN: My babies came out healthy and happy, and I just couldn’t be happier about that.
KYLEE AUSTIN: I was honestly scared to look at the scars at first. I tried to keep the bandages on as long as
possible and when I first came out of the hospital, my belly still looked almost 6 months pregnant.
KYLEE AUSTIN: It was very intimidating for me.
JOSH AUSTIN: She had a lot of stretch marks on her stomach and her abs like, physically like, split and she
had the scar from the c-section.
It’s totally worth it because we got two awesome, healthy baby boys from it.
KYLEE AUSTIN: I think the lowest point for me, confidence-wise, was a few months down the road when
I am still seeing the separation of my abs, the scars are still there, the stretch marks are still there and knowing
and having to accept that, that’s just going to be my new reality. It’s very difficult to, as a fitness professional,
come back post-pregnancy and there’s a lot of expectation for people to see you bounce back right
away. When I am working out, I see a lot of just like the skin like, flapping over so that’s really difficult to deal
with. As far as the stretch marks, I mean that’s completely different.
I never thought of myself being somebody who even had stretch marks.
JOSH AUSTIN: After a certain point in time, she just became more open with it and started to post on like,
social media about it and I think that she got a lot of positive feedback from people.
JOSH AUSTIN: And I think that encouraged her to do it more and I think that really has encouraged her to be
more positive about it to others and with herself.
KYLEE AUSTIN: One day I just let it all hang out, and this was the first time that I really showed off the reality of
what motherhood is and what it really looks like.
KYLEE AUSTIN: Putting yourself out there on social media is very, very scary. Every time I push post, I have
this rush of emotions, ‘Is everybody going to hate me?’
KYLEE AUSTIN: Everyone struggles with something. So my scars are nothing compared to the scars of people
who have really suffered.
It’s impossible to look at my three sons and not feel proud that I was able to carry them to full term.
KYLEE AUSTIN: That is what I have to carry in my mind every time I look down and I see the scars and I see the
stretch marks. That scar was able to give life. So it’s beauty to me.