The “reality” of Kate’s bump: one more piece of evidence of how far down the road to madness the world has gone
“I think what Kate [Middleton] has done for new moms has really given them a tremendous gift,” thebump.com editor Lori Richmond told ABC News.
The duchess glowed as she debuted her little prince outside St. Mary’s Hospital in London earlier this week, and moms around the world noticed that post-baby bump she proudly showed off.
“Even the way she was holding her hands, cradling her belly, really framing it, I think that was shocking for some people to see, but it was wonderful for people to see because that’s what moms really look like after they’ve given birth,” Richmond said…
Shocking!!
Here’s a photo of the appearance of Kate they’re talking about, one day after she gave birth to her first child:
Here’s another one taken at the same time, somewhat more revealing of this “bump” (and while we’re at it, please see a previous post of mine for my discourse on the use of the word “bump” to refer to pregnancy matters):
Once again—shocking, as Richmond says (and yes, that’s sarcasm on my part). The only shocking thing about it is that Richmond finds it shocking, and that she actually thinks “that’s what moms really look like after they’ve given birth.”
Well, maybe your mom—if she weighed 100 pounds soaking wet pre-pregnancy, gained a modest but adequate amount of weight during her pregnancy, and had several stylists consulting on her clothes and blow-drying her hair while in the hospital before her big reveal.
Kate’s a beautiful woman, and she looked positively lovely that day and every day, and I assume the exigencies of her role as Prince William’s wife and Duchess of Cambridge dictate her paying a ton of attention to her appearance. I wish her well; she clearly is up to that formidable task. But the idea that her body, post-pregnancy or pre, or her style or face or hair or smile represent any sort of shockingly grim reality and normalcy is laughable.
The article goes on with its fantasyworld masquerading as information:
Many new moms feel a lot of pressure to lose the weight, partly fueled by a tabloid culture that puts every Hollywood mom’s body under the microscope after she has a baby.
“I think the pressures to immediately bounce back after birth are out of control today,” ABC News senior medical contributor Dr. Jennifer Ashton said. “After delivery, it takes a while for that muscle to contract and that process takes a couple weeks.”
Ah yes, a couple of weeks, folks. Be patient.
Actually, if Dr. Ashton had specified she was talking about the uterus, that takes approximately six weeks (not “a couple”) to return to its pre-pregnancy size. But we are not merely talking about gynecological organs here, are we? We’re talking about other muscles that have been stretched tremendously, plus skin, and a fat pad that can be quite small or quite large.
In naturally thin people like Kate (and if you look at her family, it’s pretty clear that thinness is a family trait), weight loss and returning to pre-pregnancy form often happens fairly quickly. I’ve seen it in several naturally-thin friends of mine; the weight falls off them effortlessly, and in some cases they even become alarmingly thin afterwards while still eating plenty. But for the rest of us mere mortals—well, let’s just say that most never quite return to the exact same shape as before.
But I’m not through with the article yet:
ABC News’ Bianna Golodryga ventured out in New York City with her son, Jake, to find out what moms really think of Kate’s “mummy tummy.”
“I feel good that she showed it because that’s the reality,” one mom in Central Park said.
“I think it’s a very cool thing that she did that rather than hiding it,” said another at Kidville, a center that provides educational classes and programs for children.
The duchess has turned the focus to the baby, rather than the bump.
“That’s really where the time should be spent,” Richmond said. “Now worrying about how you look and not succumbing to that pressure to be so perfect so quickly.”
I would say that not only has Kate succumbed to that pressure, she is the poster child for that pressure, if people have come to think that her look and body is the picture of reality. And none of this is meant as even a whisper of criticism for Kate, who I think has managed to look stunning and project a lovely warmth and joy on becoming a mother, which is what people expect of her. In more ways than one, she delivers.
As the father and grandfather of numerous children I must say I was amazed at how great Kate looked the day after childbirth. With respect to the “bump,” that struck me as completely normal. I guess media types have to write about something.
There will be idiots analyzing poor Kate to death over George.
I’ve seen comments saying that her choice of a polka dot dress was an homage to Diana, who also wore a much uglier green polka dot dress in her first photo with William. Who knows why Kate chose this dress, but polka dots are all over the place today.
I’ve also seen some tweets criticizing her and Willam for identifying the baby as a male. He should have been allowed time to decide his own gender.
I hope Kate and William go into hiding for a while to allow the idiots time to jump on another hot topic. I wouldn’t want to be them for a day. I like my privacy, and I like being able to speak my mind.
I think there are two distinct realities regarding Kate’s appearance after birth. I completely agree that no one I know would emerge one day after birth looking like Kate … hair coiffed, gorgeous designer dress, etc. Of course, no one I know would be facing an army of photographers knowing that these pictures will be seen for the rest of eternity. However, the other reality was that she didn’t hide her post pregnancy figure at all. I actually did find that refreshing. As opposed to going into hiding and only emerging for photos once back to a bikini ready figure like the celebrity idols many worship these days. It was nice to see that different “reality”.
Most “people” have become so atomized.
Hardly a baby’s cry, an old person’s sigh, a sick person’s groan, a bereaved one’s wail–and what?
They flee. Weak people. They have pills. And surgery. And counseling. And nobody.
Resulting in the dull looks of the disinterested, the bored, the hypo-isolated, the “this is my world,” the banal, trite and sapped garden.
Against this is the bloodlust of Mohammed’s crowd and the jew-haters whose higher functions are long gone or have never been.
But there are islands, islands in the stream, that is what we are, you and me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKhV0N1dJ8E
“I like my privacy, and I like being able to speak my mind.”
Royalty and other celebrities have no privacy. That said, idiots chattering about a “bump” have no direct experience with the aftermath (no pun intended) of pregnancy. Of course she has a “bump”. Duh. Pass the donuts to the idiots and promptly ignore them. In a society without shame; the only thing left for civilized people to do is either shun them, exile them, or kill them. I choose shun, although I would prefer exile.
I have a granddaughter, age six, who is convinced she’s a princess. She and her BFF went to princess camp. Whare, I hope, they weren’t taught snotty entitledness. I don’t think their parents would allow that.
It’s kind of a stretch, but my granddaughter is pretty smart and picks up on things. I’m trying to explain the Brit system of “colonel of the regiment”.
Kate is Colonel of the Irish Guards. William of the Rifle Regiment. Among other things, when the Regiment is on active service, the Colonel makes sure the families are looked after, sees the wounded when they return and makes sure they’re taken care of, attends the funerals and visits the families of the dead. Presents decorations and is particularly charming to those in wheel chairs.
You don’t want this job, kid, I say.
We’ll see.
Youtube has some footage of Kate and William attending a couple of Irish Guards ceremonies.
Richard Aubrey: ” Among other things, when the Regiment is on active service, the Colonel makes sure the families are looked after, sees the wounded when they return and makes sure they’re taken care of, attends the funerals and visits the families of the dead. Presents decorations and is particularly charming to those in wheel chairs.
You don’t want this job, kid, I say.”
Just so. Casualties Assistance Calls Officer for life. A job no one would enjoy. And it’s for life.
In that way the British royals earn their keep. It may be well paying, but……..
J.J.
Did notification a couple of times back in 71. Also Survivor Assistance.
Kept up with one family for various reasons until the mid-Nineties. Just got back in touch and had the Soldier’s sister and her hubby to visit. She was nine at the time.
I was S1, and had the roster. Officers would hide when they saw me coming with the Look.
Richard Aubrey, missed being a CACO by a whisker. My office mate drew the short straw. I saw the impact it had on him over one year. Very tough duty. But it can lead to some meaningful relationships – as in your case.
Hell of a way to make friends, though.
About a year after I got out, they called me and said they were having trouble with the headstone. It had busted in transit to the church. Got with the current SAO–a finance captain not bad for a jumped-up pay clerk–and arranged for the church to have the hole dug and arranged to meet the captain and his driver to take them to the church. It was the family plot in Ontario.
Then it turned out the Lapeer County vets were putting up a memorial to the Vietnam dead. Called and found they had nineteen families out of twenty. Mine was the missing one. Before the internet, it was tough finding them, but we did manage. Met at the dedication on Memorial Day of, I think, 1988.
Turned out older sister, ex-Navy and BIL, Navy, were stationed where I was. I worked the poor old bachelor thing for dinner occasionally. That was when, if you have guests you use the Franco-American spaghetti with meat. One evening, older sis called and said Bob was out of town and her kid was sick. Needed to see her pediatrician about forty miles away. So off we go. Something must have been going around, since the doc’s office was full at eight in the evening. There I was, flat belly, tight haircut, jeans, most recent shower thinking I looked like a sillyvilian. Got the kid his shot and we went up to the family’s home for pizza. Dad called me a few days later cracking up. “Poor Bob. The husband’s always the last to know.”
Bob retired from the Navy. Died in the mid-Nineties and my wife and I went to the funeral. I said I was tired of funerals and wanted a christening. So a year later I got a christening notice.
I had known Mom passed after about five years. Wasn’t until younger sis visited that I found she’d shot herself.
Younger sis was a former Marine, which was where she’d met hubby.
Only way I know to drink an entire bottle of liquor and remain cold sober is to notify.
I recall for about 40 years ago hearing a number of comments and complaints by women on another who one month after her baby’s birth looked as slim as she had 10 months earlier. They just hated that.