Chontel Duncan rose to online fame by being the woman with the “world’s greatest pregnancy abs”. Many were in disbelief when she posted a photo of her friend, who was also expecting.
This challenged what most people perceive as typical baby bumps.
I was surprised with a cute visit today from a friend Nat who is also expecting ????Just being able to see someone in the…
Posted by Chontel on Friday, November 13, 2015
Five months later, she gave birth to Jeremiah at 39 weeks and two days; he weighed a healthy 3.5 kilos. Now, the new mum is eager to flaunt her fit post-pregnancy body.
BUMP UPDATE ???? 39 weeks…. Only 7 days to go ???? I have hung up the gloves & sneakers ???????????????????? Had my last session Monday night, absolutely LOVED it, had great energy, flexibility & recovery… but my instincts told me that this should be my last @hiit_australia class. It’s hard to explain but you just know your body & it’s almost like you have this bizarre connection with it where it tells you… Anyways I am proud of my journey, SO proud of Little D & couldn’t have wished for a better experience. Now for the waiting game till our D Day! My husband has been incredible, foot rubs, sneaking off to work so I get a sleep in, making sure everything is ready, always turning up to our OB appts with a bucket full of Q’s, going over everything we need to do when the day finally arrives & always asking me how I an his son are. Seriously couldn’t have done it without him ☺️ My final challenge is accepting that I have to take time off from work, I can’t run the classes, can’t train in them, can’t control the office & oversee that everything is running smoothly… I have other priorities now & until Little D arrives I cannot structure or plan out a new routine until then. I have no idea how I will make it work, but I just know it will. I love my job, I love the atmosphere, I love the people, I love being productive, busy & achieving. So now it’s time to step out for a second & challenge myself to master running a business whilst being the best mum a possibly can for my little man. Is crazy to think that soon I won’t have my bump…???? Little D I cannot wait to meet you ???? “First glimpse of him will be on my snap chat chontelduncan”
A photo posted by ????????????????SnapChat???????? ChontelDuncan (@chontelduncan) on
A photo posted by ????????????????SnapChat???????? ChontelDuncan (@chontelduncan) on
In the photo, Chontel is holding her baby boy close to her chest. She writes in the caption: “Today little Miah is 13 days old & my c-section incision is healing nicely. It’s larger than a normal one due to the doctors struggling to get Miah out at the time of my operation where my core held him in very tightly. Scar, stretch marks, wider hips, heavy “not so perky” jugs WHO CARES I have a baby & though I was very lucky to not have many of those I did receive a large scar which I am very proud of.”
But what she wasn’t expecting was the backlash that followed her instagram post.
Back-seat parents started to criticise her parenting skills. They condemned the way she was holding the weeks old infant and some gave advise on how to hold properly.
“Omg that babys poor neck. Hold ur child properly! More important than a selfie,” commented @__alexandria_.
“I’m sorry but hold ur child head, like actually hold it!!” added @carrie.killeen. “What scar? What stretch marks? Don’t complain about something while flaunting a flat stomach. Most women truly experience a change in their body after childbirth – you have nothing to comment on,” added @joc_mcleod.
“There is no way that was a 7lb baby. It’s tiny,” added instagram user: @laurellei.
A photo posted by ????????????????SnapChat???????? ChontelDuncan (@chontelduncan) on
But Chontel wasn’t about to let these slide.
“If you honestly don’t like my page just click unfollow,” she responded.
She then posted another photo of her holding her son. But this time it had two photos side by side to prove that the head lift caught on camera was only momentary.
“Reposting this due to the number of dumb dumbs ripping on my first image,” Chontel wrote. “Sorry but I’m not going to be nice about what I think about your belittling attempts to educate me on the safety or better yet my intentions as a new mum.”
Her 478,000 followers on Instagram were witness to her pregnancy journey, including her anticipation and fears about parenthood.
Throughout it all, she has remained positive and is continuing to inspire her followers to do the same, even if she has to deal with negativity along the way.
READ: Mum responds to breastfeeding backlash with the perfect photo
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