Isn’t that enough?

(post inspired by the lovely Giovanna Fletcher’s pic this morning… https://www.instagram.com/p/BCcnUlLk0qi/)

This is my post-baby bump.

I posted on facebook and instagram the other day about having lost 25lbs since Cameron was born, but I feel weird about this. Obviously the weight of my baby and the fluid that surrounded him was a massive part of this loss, but I have not intentionally lost more weight, I’ve just been more active than my last two pregnancies as I have more children to look after!
I am so thankful that my body has been able to grow and protect another baby, yet people still feel the need to comment on my weight, and other mums for that matter. I’ve never been small, even as a teenager, but with each pregnancy I have put on more and more weight, which made my self confidence drop even lower and makes it progressively harder to lose the ‘baby weight’. Now that I’ve had my babies I think people just expect you to lose weight overnight and for it to be high priority.
It isn’t.
I’m trying my best to look after three children, to get us all dressed, fed and out the door in time for school. I’m trying not to lose my temper when the girls start arguing and ‘fighting’. I’m trying to stay awake in the day even though the baby had me up what seems like a hundred times in the night. I’m trying to get at least some housework done so that MrV doesn’t come home from work and have to do what I’ve not done. All of this and then worrying about what people might think of me on the school run. I must look a mess, I’ve worn no makeup for months now, and I feel like I’m constantly shouting “come here Millie… don’t run off… hold my hand… Bella don’t do that… girls do as you’re told…”.
In the last few days, two people (men) have told me that my face looks a lot slimmer. One of these was my father in law, the nicest man you could ever meet, and the other was a shop assistant in my local Boots. Both comments were taken as compliments, and I’m sure they were both said with the best intentions, but it got me thinking. If it’s got to the point that men are commenting on my weight, and we all know they’re not the most observant at times, does this mean that women are silently doing so? Even I have noticed that my clothes don’t fit properly, my leggings and maternity jeans are baggy to the point I can’t wear my jeans now, yet I look in the mirror and still see the remains of a big belly, the stretched hideous skin and divots where my stomach muscles seperated. My tops are still tight, which they would be as I only gave birth 17 days ago, but I don’t want to buy new ones yet incase this time I actually manage to lose my belly.
Why is there so much pressure on mums? At the minute all I want to do is sleep and cuddle my baby, isn’t that enough???