"This is a standard body after children." No, I'm not ashamed of my baby weight.

No, I’m not pregnant, I’m just fat.

It took me a long time to accept it, but the truth is having children left me 20kg overweight and a serial snacker; a mum who eats on the run.

Seven years and four pregnancies later, I’m not ashamed and you shouldn’t be either. Although it can be confronting to read, the reality is most mothers do carry extra weight after having children.

Watch: How to improve your daughter’s body image. Post continues below.

I’m 18 months postpartum now and still carrying baby weight, and probably will forever. I am still plump. Still saggy, still covered in stretch marks, still walking around with excess skin that hangs over my worn-out, holey jeans.

I am still wearing mismatched underwear and granny panties. My old maternity bras are still a go too because they’re comfortable and worn in. But I am still fabulous! Just as I am.

This body carried four babies – it’s done the most magical thing the human body is capable of. It’s full of memories and stories I’ll one day tell my grandchildren – something every woman, every mother should be proud of.

Look, I admit – some days I still look in the mirror and cry, for about a minute, then I shake my fabulous mum booty to the kitchen because I am a snack! Well no, I actually go and make the kids breakfast, but that’s the sort of attitude we all need to have.

I don’t always love it but I accept it. It might not be cover-girl worthy, it might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it gave me my children.

I’m proud of it, so no one else has to be, right?

Still, we need to see more of this. No airbrushing or photoshopping. Real, raw bodies in all their glory.

The truth is most of the women that follow me on Instagram probably look similar to me in their own way.

Listen to Mamamia Out Loud, Mamamia’s podcast with what women are talking about this week. Post continues below.

I just wanted to remind you all that it’s ok to look like this. This is a standard body after children. It’s ok if your body isn’t your priority right now either, it doesn’t make you lazy or a slob. You’re a busy woman, a mother, and life is crazy.

Your time will come one day; these are the days we need to enjoy with our children, because they won’t last forever. It’s normal to have cellulite and stretch marks, pimples and varicose veins. It’s what makes you you, it’s real, and those marks and blemishes you’re insecure about, they tell a story.

It’s a part of being a woman; it’s a part of motherhood.

I just wanted to let you know that if you’re waking up and feeling bad about yourself, don’t. I want you to look at yourself in the mirror and look at that beautiful body, appreciate it, everything it’s done for you. Avoid the scales, put on whatever makes you feel sexy. Be kind to yourself. It takes a lot of energy to be a queen.

This post originally appeared on the Instagram page House of Hoods and has been expanded and republished with full permission.