Six reasons why it's insane to say that men need maternity leave

4. Tread Marks, Puffy Faces, and Extra Fat

Some women lose weight so fast after birth they can walk out of the hospital afterwards with their old jeans on. I want to punch these women out. Others, like myself, take some time to lose the 35 pounds we gained during pregnancy.

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Case in point: At the Chick-fil-A near my house, the manager offers a free ice cream cone to pregnant women. With my newborn son in his car seat in the back of the restaurant, I walked up to the register to get a refill. An employee took one look at my postpartum pooch and, without blinking, handed me an ice cream cone. I couldn’t bear to face the humiliation (and embarrass her) by telling her I had just given birth, so I took the cone, gritted my teeth, and handed it to another son (who was delighted.).

I had to work very hard after each child to lose the weight I had gained. For many women it doesn’t disappear until after she’s done nursing—her body will hold the fat on purpose. As someone who was generally between a size 6 to 8, this felt tremendously difficult physically and mentally. Add to that the stretch marks that lie across my stomach like tire tread, and I have no problem admitting that I looked in the mirror and cried like a baby at least a few times postpartum.

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