Stretch marks are inevitable for many of us – even those of us who don’t have kids! From 40 weeks along to 6 months post baby, mum Kristin Niemi shows her tum’s changing stretch marks in all their glory…

On the other hand, pregnancy is when those red or silvery white lines form on our hips, sides, thighs, bottoms, and ever-growing tums.  Basically, any part of us that has skin? Mum of 2 Kristin Niemi, a super popular Instagrammer known as @studioartyoga, has been proactive in documenting her post-baby tum stretch marks since giving birth for the 2nd time. And what really struck us about the pics when we scrolled past them, was the journey her body’s gone on in the weeks and months following.

Above, you can see her bump at 40 weeks and her stretch marks just one week after giving birth. “#40weekspregnant and #1weekpostpartum (without and with #yogababy!)” she wrote beside it. “My stretch marks are fading, my belly is shrinking, and my love for my boys is overwhelming!” Side note: Kristin’s commenters were obsessed with the pattern of them – many suggested they looked just like the tree of life? And here, you can see how they’re getting on 74 days after giving birth…

And again, at 6 months post-baby…

“Going back to the photo where it all started ??” she captioned this one. “A photo of joy, of growth, of discomfort, of #stretchmarks, of a rash, of 40 long but fun weeks of baking a baby! And in comparison on the right. “In both photos, I’m so proud of my body. It’s grown to fit life on the left, and it’s now stronger than ever, allowing me to lift up my large boys on the right!”

When one mother shared some extraordinary photos of her pregnant and postpartum tummy, she demonstrated that we do not have to be afraid of or embarrassed by our stretch marks. Instead, perhaps it’s time to let go of our excessive expectations, put the photoshop away, and tell the story of our beautiful war wounds. It’s something that many women would instinctively hide, but Kristin chose to embrace it, writing in the post: “”This is #40weekspregnant#unfiltered. It’s impatience. It’s the overwhelming desire to finally meet him after 10 long months … It’s an emotional rollercoaster. And yet, it’s still pretty darn beautiful.” “This is my reality, this is my progress, this is my journey. And this is what a lot of other amazing mamas’ journeys look like.” So, we found these pics of Kristin looking fab and embracing her stretch marks 100% to be really powerful and also very inspiring