Camila Alves' Post-Baby Tradition Puts Moms First
I think it's unanimous: We all have girl-crushes on Matthew McConaghey's new fiancee, Camila Alves. Former model, mom to their two delectable kiddies -- and did we mention she's not one to jump on the treadmill 10 seconds after she has a baby? Nope, unlike other celeb moms like Victoria Beckham, Camila was not in a hurry to shed the baby weight after having each of their children.
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Camila believes in what Brazilians call "quarentena." It's actually practiced all over the world. What it means is that the mother spends time restoring her health and bonding with her baby for a little over a month. For Camila, it was 40 days. And it included no sex!
"Where I come from, we believe in something we call a 40-day break after the baby," Camila said soon after the birth of daughter, Vida. "You have to let your body do its own thing. You give it time to recover and let everything settle down. You kind of respect all the hard work your body has just done and give it a break. For these 40 days, you really take it easy. By that I mean no sex, light, healthy food, no trips to the gym. Then, after 40 days, you are good to go."
Don't you love how she put that -- "respect all the hard work" your body does? I adore that kind of talk! Of course, most doctors recommend no sexual intercourse for six weeks after giving birth anyway (ehrm, though the determined and enterprising couple will find ways around that). The last thing I wanted to do after having a baby was work out. Taking a shower was about as ambitious as it got for me. And eating healthy just makes sense for mama and baby.
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Anyway, it's nice hearing about a celeb mom who wasn't in a hurry to shrink herself back to Barbie-doll proportions. No disrespect to moms who do that (SIGH, Miranda Kerr) -- it's just a relief to know there's two fewer "HOW SHE LOST ALL THE WEIGHT IN 5 MINUTES" stories out there. I like the "how she lost the weight gradually, at a pace deemed safe by her doctor" stories better. And I love hearing about another mom whose husband supports her taking time to heal and bond with her baby right after birth.
Are you planning a recovery period like Camila Alves' cuarentena when you have your baby? What do you think of the practice?
Image via Vivanista1/Flickr
Written by Adriana Velez on CafeMom's blog, The Stir.
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