The radiant Jennifer Rubin with her sons Ethan (8) and Grant (3) and daughter Zoe (3). Jennifer has had healthy pregnancies and birthed big healthy babies. Her first was delivered via cesarean just over 10 lbs and had to spend some time in NICU after his arrival. Due to her history of big babies, Jennifer was then monitored very closely through her subsequent pregnancies and they made the choice to deliver via scheduled cesarean at 39 weeks. Zoe and Grant both arrived at over 11 lbs but were both healthy. Breastfeeding went well with all of her babies and Jennifer was able to pump when she returned to work. Ethan nursed for about 6 months, Zoe weaned around a year and while she had planned to allow Grant, her last baby, to nurse as long as possible he decided at 10 months that he was done with the breast. Jennifer has Diastatis Recti (abdominal muscle separation) from her pregnancies and was having a lot of back pain because of it. She spoke with her doctor who said another abdominal surgery was the only way to fully resolve it which she wasn't willing to do. She's been able to use physical therapy and exercise to heal a bit and strengthen which has taken the back pain away but not fully corrected her abdominal wall.
Jennifer says that after following this project and believing in it, she felt that it was her responsibility to participate and support it. Even though she still struggles with her body sometimes she believes in the importance of showing her sons and her daughters our confidence and comfort even when it takes a leap to get there.