Tia Mowry on nursing: I literally have to pick up my boobs to see my waist

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Tia Mowry covers Romper Magazine’s holiday issue. The lead in for the interview is all about how much Tia loves Christmas and how happy she was to be walking around in heavy Christmas attire in Los Angeles in August for the photoshoot. She does looks great in these shots, but I was in LA in August and it was flipping miserable. Being outside in that outfit would have ruined Christmas for me, even if it was still four months away. Despite it being the holiday issue, it’s still Romper Magazine so the interview is mainly about Tia’s world postpartum. Tia and husband Cory Hardict are parents to Cree, eight, and Cairo, one and a half. Tia is always honest about her body issues and this interview is no exception. This time she gets real about her breasts after feeding Cairo for 13 months.

On “bouncing back” after having a baby: I was on a show called The Game (after Cree was born), and I was constantly in lingerie on that show, so I felt pressured… This time around I said, ‘You know what? This is me, and this is where I am now, and if someone wants to hire me, then this is what they’re going to get.’

On breastfeeding: First of all, I am not afraid to say this, but I literally have to pick up my boobs to see my waist… Literally haul them up and be like, ‘Oh, there it is.’

On how she stays so calm as a parent: I make it a point to make sure that my environment is a calming environment… We meditate and we think about the colors in our house with regards to the vibe. We believe in feng shui when it comes to design.

On having guilt as a mom of two: There was this one time in particular when I was giving Cairo kisses and he goes, ‘Mommy, you give Cairo more kisses than me.’ And that hurt me… I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, what have I done?’ … I felt so much guilt.

On diagnosing herself with PPD: When I knew that I had postpartum [depression]… I didn’t want to admit it. It was that shame. I told my sister about it. I told my husband about it, and I told my friends about it. They became my support system. So when I was sad or going through my emotions, I would talk about it. I didn’t suppress them. I think that helped. Just being on set and it not being about your boobs and a baby, it was about you again.

On her decision not to spank her kids: I don’t spank my kids, and in the African American community that’s like, ‘What? Who are you? You’re not black if you don’t spank your kids.’

[From Romper]

These are the buzz quotes from the article, but it gets deeper. One thing I like about Tia’s interviews is that she is unflinchingly honest, yet she conveys that all her choices are just about her, there’s no judgement. I don’t share many of Tia’s parenting philosophies, like attachment parenting, but that’s just my choice, I don’t care if she does it. And I feel like she’s saying the same thing: how I raise my kid is up to me. Tia shared that she and Cory decided they needed a second child when their home started becoming a shrine to Cree so I could see how his comment about her giving the baby more kisses would hit her in the chest.

As far as Tia’s comment about lifting her breasts to see her waist, yeah. Outside of the shower, I am almost never without some form of bra on because I just hate how my breasts look now. But, you know, that’s life. I don’t feel bad about it, I just find a way to accept it. For me, it’s a strong underwire giving me cleavage up to my chin, but one of my best friends hangs freely under her blouses and loves how it feels. And honestly, she looks great. She’s always wearing backless shirts, which I love. Like I’m really leaning into Tia’s you do you vibe. Tia said she’s just started working out again and taking care of herself mentally as well. I appreciate that Tia is doing things on her terms this time around.

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Photo Credit: Amy Harrity/Romper

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15 Responses to “Tia Mowry on nursing: I literally have to pick up my boobs to see my waist”

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  1. Kendra says:

    It’s odd to hear her speak of spanking like that, it’s illegal where I live so it’s so odd that she speaks of not spanking like it’s optional.

    • Mc says:

      The idea of spanking is so unreal to me, but I know quite a few people who do it. My nephew goes to kindergarten in the south and they paddle kids at school. They actually have a designated “disciplinarian” who paddles the kids. It blows my mind.

      • ME says:

        What ??? Actually I grew up in Canada and back in the late 80’s teachers were allowed to spank kids. I remember seeing it. They used to also threaten to wash your mouth out with soap if you didn’t behave (I never saw that happen though). It’s just crazy the things teachers were allowed to do. The fact there are STILL places in 2019 that allow this is unreal to me.

  2. Risa says:

    Between breastfeeding, gaining weight, and then losing a lot…. I relate to lifting my boobs to see my waist. That is why I am getting mine augmented in a few months. I have put so much work into my body.. but there is no amount of work I can do to fix my boobs :/.

    • Joanna says:

      I want to get a breast lift. Miss my girls’ being perky

      • Livethelifeaquatic says:

        DO IT! You will never regret a breast lift. I had mine lifted this past June. I am self employed as a taxidermist, so I was initially hesitant to have time off. The downtime was like 1 week. And in 4 weeks I could resume normal lifting. I called myself frankentits for a few weeks while they were super scary looking, but now they are fabulous. I am sooo happy with my results. I only wish I would have done it sooner. I opted for just a lift. I didn’t want to mess around with any foreign body and plus implants don’t last forever – they literally need to be swapped out after x amount of years. In hindsight, I wish I would have got them done in the fall…since my husband and I are big time boaters and I couldn’t swim in a river or lake for 6 weeks

      • Nahema says:

        I’m completely with you ladies. I worked hard on my body and my breasts were the only thing left that I wasn’t comfortable with. They weren’t terrible but I HATED the feeling on skin on skin where my breasts drooped. It would make me cringe, so I lived in a bra or I’d get super weird and tuck fabric under them. Finally I decided to go ahead and see a surgeon and I am so happy with the results. Surgery isn’t for everyone and won’t fix everything but it has made the world of difference to me.

    • frizz says:

      My breasts are naturally large and pendulous like most of the women’s in my family. I don’t think they’re shameful or need fixing. Mine started out perky B cup then they just grew and grew at 25! I was like how did I get DDD?? I came to love them in all of their cleavage glory.

      Everyone has a preference though and of course it’s totally fine to get a different breast shape. There’s not a right kind of boob.

      • Jaded says:

        I got a reduction 12 years ago and it was the smartest thing I ever did. I was having constant neck and shoulder pain, clothes didn’t fit because I have have narrow hips and long slender legs. Bathing suits? Forget it. I went from an E cup to a C and the neck/shoulder pain went away, and buying clothes and bathing suits became a pleasure instead of a frustrating, stressful let-down.

  3. CharliePenn says:

    I read this headline and I said “yup”. Haha. I knew my boobs would never be the same the day I found myself lying on my back, and my baby was next to me, and my baby was nursing! Because my boob was so long and floppy that it just flopped over to the side almost into my armpit and my baby could nurse from there. What?! Bizarro life, having your body change so much through the experience of childbirth and nursing.
    Now, having weaned almost two years ago and lost weight, my boobs are so empty and floppy as hell. Oh well! I love my body for all it has done for me and my babies. I do wish, for comfort’s sake, that they were small and perky again. It’s not very comfortable having boobs swinging around!

  4. Snazzy says:

    Lol I have to pick mine up to put my shoes on and I haven’t even had kids. 34G here 🤷🏽‍♀️

  5. Caty Page says:

    I know I’ll get yelled at for this, but I try to be non-judgmental about spanking when it’s light handed. It’s very traditional in many of the communities I teach, and screaming “you can’t do that!” feels elitist to me personally. I wouldn’t do it, but I also think it’s not my place to tell others how to parent.

    “But the research says…” I know. I just can’t bring myself to tell other women how to be moms. It’s unlikely to change their behavior and will just make the struggling moms of color I work with feel judged.

    • schmootc says:

      I don’t think schools should be doing it, but it’s none of my beeswax if parents use it to discipline. My parents spanked me and I don’t feel it caused me any harm.

  6. Kate says:

    1 – I loved the Game!
    2 – She looks stunning in that cover shot
    3 – I sometimes can’t stop smooching my 2.5 year old b/c he’s so cute and then I feel guilty about not lavishing the same love on my 4.5 year old, so I go give her smooches too. But the little ones are so extra cute and irresistible!

  7. ema says:

    I BF my son for 13 months– I totally get the various emotions around the permanent change to ones post-nursing breasts. But I also hate that these statements rarely seem to be followed up with any positivity regarding breastfeeding. I know its not true for all women, but I loved my BF journey (it was incredibly hard at times and I’m extremely proud that we made it 13 months). I wish more women talked about the positive aspects of their breastfeeding journey (the bonding, the emotional side to it, etc.) and didn’t so often focus the comments on the impact it had on their breasts.