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Hello Jools Oliver, wife of Jamie. Mother of Daisy Boo, Poppy Honey and little Petal Blossom Rainbow. You can call your babies whatever you damn please because you are doing women everywhere a giant favour by showing the world what a REAL New Mummy Tummy looks like.
THANK YOU
As one UK journalist and mother wrote:
Her husband Jamie might steal the limelight as he cooks roast lamb
for world leaders and sorts out our school dinners, but the real star
of the Oliver family is Jools.
She has always been a poster girl for real mums like me, and I
cheered when I saw the photos of her introducing newborn Petal Blossom
Rainbow outside the Portland Hospital last week.
10oz baby girl, but she also looked that rarest of rare things for a
celebrity mum – normal.
Wearing jeans and a jumper, her hair was all over the place, her nose
was shiny and she made no attempt to hide the large tummy that just
eight hours before had carried her baby.
Those celebrity mums who hide away until they’ve starved themselves
back to size zero just make us feel inadequate when we are at our most
vulnerable.
Comments
56 Comments so far
OeQmtC Really appreciate you sharing this article post. Cool.
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The Oliver’s are great. I buy his work because I support what he stands for – look at how proud they are. It’s great that Jools is comfortable – just looking at those snaps makes me smile.
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I LOVE this post and I LOVE the photos. Makes me feel better about my post-baby body. Makes me feel slightly more normal. Only slightly, but still. :p
I love that Jools doesn’t care about what people think of her. She obviously has a good self esteem and plenty of self respect. (Something I lack).
She is amazing!!!
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no offence to anyone out there, but I am a “real” mother (I pinched myself just to check!) and my tummy whent back to normal (just a little softer) as soon as I had my son. My point is not to say what women should look like after childbirth or at any other time, and I agree that Jools is looking absolutely gorgeous here, but all women are different and sure, some of us retain a belly for a while, but you know what?? others do not, and we are “real” women too!!
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I can relate – after my first baby I was straight back into my pre-bub clothes. Not so for baby #2, but I was thinking the same thing as you…
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OH MY GOSH they are so freaking GORGEOUS I just want to hug them! =D
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I hate to say this but i am no celebrity and i didn’t starve myself at all.. on the contrary, i love food.. but i didn’t have a tummy like that (Jools) after either of my 2 children. In fact after their births i was smaller than before i was pregnant at all.. I didn’t have baby fat left over. I had loose skin around my tummy area as expected but more a deflated balloon than a bump..
Breast-feeding is the best remedy for a body to return to pre-pregnancy… from memory, something to do with it encourages our body to contract the tummy muscles and help to lose any extra baby weight.
But regardless, who cares so long as both mother and baby are healthy?
Expectant mothers are getting too concerned/ paranoid about shedding the extra weight that it is surely worse for both mother and baby’s health.. and possibly leads to stress, binge eating and dieting.. not good for anyone.. least of all the baby if still breast feeding.
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Her tummy looked like this eight hours after birth. That’s the point of this article, that most celebrity mothers will not allow themselves to be seen or photographed until they are back to being tiny.
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Erica, the sudden changes in hormones make women very vulnerable after birth. Yes, its awesome, powerful… all that, but if we weren’t particularly vulnerable, we wouldn’t get post partum blues or depression. Furthermore, however normal, it is an extreme experience which no one can adequately prepare you for and the failure of the media to realistically inform women adds to the struggle they have with this overwhelming new experience.
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If you’re all interested in seeing what women usually look like after giving birth, there is a wonderful blog called shapeofamother.com or something along those lines. There may be a “the” before the blog name, but I forget. Simply google if you’re interested. I go there all the time when I’m having a bit of a down day about myself and my body. It does wonders.
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Beautiful picture!
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While I disagree with airbrushing women to this degree I think it is a fallacy that someone else can make us feel something. And women are not vulnerable after giving birth. Birth is not an illness or a weakness, it is a normal part of a woman’s life! Birth is powerful. Birth is life.
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I think she is beautiful! And I think it is wonderful for women to see what you really look like after birth. I.love.it.!!
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p.s Jools looks great don’t get me wrong but some mums just loose there belly instantly!!!
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it’s funny how people lag on other celebrity mums who “loose” there baby weight instantly… has nobody heard of the new dr ray body wear? works a treat.. pulls in all bumps and curves…
and also some mums ( i no i am one of them and my kids have been 4kg babies) just loose there belly instantly.. sure there is still flab but not a bump and like i said the body wear would work a treat on this,,,,
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Strong stomach muscles. My milkman’s wife (!) is a ballet dancer, and her stomach muscles were so strong you could literally see her belly get flatter as soon as she’d given birth.
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love it…I reckoin one week after giving birth I was exactly the same weight as i was when preggers…despite giving birth to a 3.5kilo baby!
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How on earth did Cate Blanchett face the public onl 4 or 5 days after giving birth to her son Iggy?
She was her normal slim self; impossible!
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Jools looks so lovely. I remember some religious doorknockers visiting me when my daughter was 2 months old and asking when my baby was due- right on cue my daughter started screaming upstairs! Was a good way to get rid of them if nothing else…;)
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Jools rules! The last photo I saw like that was when Princess Diana had Harry – and she got to wear the 1980s belly-covering muumuus. Long live the baby tum – I’ve got one. (OK my youngest is nearly nine, What.Ever.)
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real people are all shapes and sizes – wake up, everyone, look around you. Celebs also don’t have perfect skin, bodies, or hair – or they wouldn’t need to airbrush all their pics.
As for the kid names, nah – i can’t forgive naming creatures that will one day be adults with names that will make them forever infantilised. There’s something creepy about it.
I’d imagine they’ll call the next one Ickle Pickle Ickyboo, and then the next can be Ooz Preddy Lildadababathen.
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She looks real! She looks happy! She looks ..fantastic!
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I remember seeing this pic in the paper and thinking to myself she is truly a yummy mummy- by that I mean a delicious looking mum so happy with her new bub and husband. She looks so natural and comfortable and normalises the whole “yummy mummy” phenomenon. She has obviously had a great birth and has those endorphins pumping and looks amazing! Yay Jools!
(plus I love the jumper!)
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what a legend! I’m 18 and had actually never seen a ‘real’ post pregnancy belly before… if not for jools i would have pretty much died of shock when my stomach didn’t reduce to the shape of a pancake straight after my birth…
yay for her!
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oh and I love the bandaid on her puffy looking hand and fingers…..she’s so real God bless her
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And no mention of Nicole who never looked like she’d had a baby 2 weeks after giving birth at the age of 40! I maintain the conspiracy theory.
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I think Petal is an alright name, but the ‘Blossom Rainbow’ added is a bit much. Kind of like how Daisy and Poppy are nice names, but ‘Boo’ and ‘Honey’ added are too much (especially ‘Boo’!)
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I had my little girl last week (yay!) and within that first day one of my visiting girlfriends asked me “So when does your stomach loose that.. you know…” and she made the pot belly shape rather sheepishly. Both my husband and I gave her the look that said we just told you the labour was 31 hours, including a near emergancy when the baby’s heartrate dropped dramatically, and you’re asking about aesthetics??
Thanks to Jools for keeping it real. (Though posing for the paps just after labour was not something I would have wanted to do).
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This is nice and all, but that name is hideous.
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Wow she is so skinny and she has nice makeup on and her hair is so pretty and neat. How is her hair “all over the place”?! Gosh I wonder what this writer would say about me. 15 months on and both of Jool’s arms put together wouldn’t be as fat as mine and my hair doesn’t look as good as hers on what I’d now call a great hair day for me. People still ask when I’m due. How dreadful! I have been doing exercise and eating quite well but the baby belly lingers. Meh. What can you do.
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Its just so refreshing to see a woman who isn’t afraid (or embarrassed) to show herself straight after having a baby. I am impressed she is even standing and can fit into her jeans!
http://www.minihipster.com
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Ummm am I the only one who isn’t excited by this photo?
Jools is gorgeous, she looks lovely, BUT this photo was taken just 8 hours after the birth of the baby – of course her tummy still looks like that.
Let’s wait for the photo’s of Jools in a few weeks time and see how she looks – bet she has no trace of ‘mummy tummy’ by the 4 week mark.
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And how proud does Jamie look?! Bless…what a gorgeous family.
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That is truly amazing. Ive never been close to anyone who has been pregnant so all i had to judge a womans body after birth was celebrity pictures. I always just assumed once the baby was born a woman would have a little tummy left but wow thats amazing, i feel stupid for not knowing this but ive never seen it.
Thank you Jools!!
Thank you Mia!
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We need to see more of this – most young women have no idea what a real, healthy postpartum body looks like. 2 cases in point:
1. I had a baby 3 weeks ago and a friend rang to say hi… after beating around the bush for a while she asked me in hushed tones “so… what’s it like”? “What’s what like?” I asked… “You know, your, well, your stomach. Does it look normal?” I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Of course my stomach looks normal – for someone who had a baby 3 weeks ago!! I haven’t seen her yet but when I do I’ll show her my tummy and ask her what she thinks. Depending on her answer I may or may not then offer her a cup of tea
2. Another friend of mine went into a shop a month after giving birth and was asked by the teenage assistant when the baby was due – and she was HOLDING her baby!!! Good grief.
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when i first saw this pic i was suprised, & then i immediately wondered why i was suprised as of course my tummy was like that after birth.
now i know why – because we never usually see it! after my first i was surprised that i still looked pregnant, i was the first of my friends to have a baby & i seriously did not know that the uterus takes a weeks to go down. shame there were not more pics like this around.
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I love that when you go from pregnant to “pushing it out” and you walk around the birthing suite and feel really skinny (probably all the while looking like Jools in the above pic). God thank the “real woman”.
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Mumbos-saw some skinny blonde chick on Ellen today laughingly and so openly talking about the amount of photoshopping done on her cover shot. Thought to myself, I don’t know who that gal is but I like the cut of her jib…
Kudos to Jools for being willing to be seen looking – gasp – like a normal post birth mum, and to Mia for once again doing mums and women everywhere a favour
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Hair all over the place???? Gosh if I could get my braids to look like that I’d be happy for my hair to be all over the place!
Great to have a realistic role model for a change, good ya Jools.
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Mia I found this link via twitter and I have to admit I was a bit scared of what I might find here on your blog LOL We just never can be too sure what we are going to find you blogging about these days!
Good on her but yes I don’t think the newspaper had to list all they could see wrong with her to make us regular mums appreciate that a celb mum can really just be like us. She just had a baby 8 hours ago so who cares what she looks like she is an amazing woman!
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i love jools and jamie. i have read her book also and thin k she looks great!!
WTG mia!!
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She looks fan-baby-tastic. I use to not really believe in that pregnant-glow but it is evident on her beautiful face! And dad looks super chuffed too.
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Petal is a term of endearment in my opinion. Right up there with Apple.
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I’m teary reading your blog again. These pictures are so natural in every way, they really convey what a special moment it is to bring a new baby into the world. He looks so proud of the two girls in his arms.
Petal is a sweet name and you couldn’t really follow Daisy Boo and Poppy Honey with anything less!
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I love her! What gorgeous photos. The second one is priceless. They look so chuffed to be parents again. Bless ‘em both. Him, a fantastic cook and role model for youth and her a lovely, REAL Mum!
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Her hair is fine and I don’t see a shine on her nose. I see a glowing with pride mother. She’s brilliant, love her for keeping it real!
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Get her on the cover of Vogue please! Now!
speaking of covers, did anyone see Jenny McCarthy on Ellen today talking about how they airbrushed her pic on the cover of (US mag) Shape? So honest and realistic.
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I agree, good on you Jools for keeping it real. Love your work.
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I think she looks absolutely beautiful, vunerable and in love with her new baby. I love the photos, so much better than the usual celebrity ones you see.
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Big ups to ya Jools. She is my covergirl. For shiz.
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YAY! This is why I love your blog Mia. The frocks are great and I love the funny stuff, but stories like this are where the gold is at.
With stories like this, I sometimes wonder whether I’m veering towards schadenfreude – you know, when you take unanticipated delight in the suffering or misfortune of others – but I don’t think that’s what’s going on. I think I like this because Jules doesn’t look terrible – she actually looks quite lovely – but she definitely looks like a woman who just gave birth. I like that she hasn’t prioritised a blow-dry and lipgloss for the cameras; it would have been tempting.
PS> how sweet is the name Petal – wouldn’t be my choice, but it’s lovely all the same!
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