Mum, 30, who became pregnant with quadruplets naturally reveals how carrying four babies has changed her body – and how she’s healed her physique over 11 months.
A mother-of-five has revealed how she healed her body after carrying and giving birth to quadruplets naturally last year.
Natalie Maree, 30, from Roebourne in Western Australia, said she used to think she had to get her ‘pre-baby body back’ as soon as possible after giving birth.
But in fact it has taken her close to a year of hard work in the gym and careful eating to ‘heal’ her body, and even 11 months after the quadruplets’ birth she has to remind herself that ‘how my body looks is not a representation of my personality’.
‘It is ridiculously hard to not compare yourself to others, not feel envious of others, not wish for something different than what you have,’ Natalie posted on Instagram.
‘I do or have done all of these things.’
But, Natalie said, you need to remember that your body is ‘just the vehicle that carries your personality around and you need to love your vehicle and not compare it to anyone else’s’.
‘You only get one body. Treat it well, love it deeply and thank it for getting you through each day,’ Natalie said.
Alongside eating healthily with five young kids, Natalie has tried to include as much exercise in her weekly regime as possible.
Typical workouts for the mum-of-five include squats and presses with a plate, planks, squats and burpees.
Natalie typically shares clips of her working out on her Instagram page.
She also shares photos of the healthy meals she whips up for herself, like her salad bowls – which include ingredients like spinach, tomatoes, quinoa, mango, pumpkin, carrot, gherkin, capsicum and avocado.
The mum of five’s most recent post resonated with her thousands of followers, many of whom thanked the mum for being so brave.
‘You have carried five beautiful lives and grown each of them to perfection, including four at once! Amazing!!!’ one commenter posted.
‘I think your body tells that story and it is just as beautiful if not more beautiful than any other body,’ another added.
A third wrote: ‘Absolutely amazing body, to think you carried four babies at one time is incredible’.
Natalie and her husband Kahn had struggled for years with fertility issues before they had their quadruplets last year.
Natalie was diagnosed with ‘unexplained infertility’, called ‘anovulation’, and required ovulation induction – or injecting hormones to stimulate regular ovulation – before she finally became pregnant with their daughter Kiki in 2018.
‘Twins run in my family and I’d been told that there was a small chance of a multiple pregnancy with this treatment, but I could never have anticipated what would happen next,’ Natalie said previously.
‘When we went for our first pregnancy scan, I saw two sacs appear on the screen and I started crying because I thought we were having twins. Kahn started crying too.’
Natalie and Kahn’s quadruplets, Maioha Kahn (2.3kg), Frankee Gene (1.92kg), Marley Rose (2.2kg) and Maddison Grace (2.1kg) were born on July 21 within the space of minutes.
