It's fair to say that when it comes to the places I look for #relatable #parentingcontent, Molly-Mae Hague's instagram page isn't my first pick.
Lots of parents have found Molly-Mae to be an easy target, she's obviously extremely wealthy, there's a lot of beige that most mums wouldn't even attempt to make it out of the house wearing and she's never quite managed to shed those comments that, 'Beyoncé has the same 24 hours in the day that we do...' pre-pregnancy, when talking about her work ethic.
But Molly-Mae has actually been very open about her motherhood journey since she had baby Bambi in January - the sleepless nights, the feeding issues and stretch marks on her first post-baby holiday in various blogs - and her recent posts about a wardrobe clear-out sent such a great message that it even had me considering my own approach to dressing. Just... stay with me.
Last weekend, Molly-Mae posted on Instagram about having a massive post-baby wardrobe clearout. She wrote that she'd started 'and ended up here' showing a completely empty wardobe full of hangers.
She later showed a glimpse of the corridor of her Cheshire home with fiance Tommy Fury, filled with bin bags and a caption: 'This was so needed. Time to give my pre baby clothes a new home for someone else to enjoy,' adding: 'I have about 10% of my wardrobe left.'
Ok so before the privilege criticisms start, I get it. Not everyone can afford to get rid of 90pc of their wardrobe, nevermind replenish it (like she did a few days later in Celine...)
But in a world of snapback culture, it was so refreshing to see Molly-Mae just acknowledge her body had changed and not battle it, but look elsewhere for a solution.
How many of us have stood in front of wardrobes that not longer fit us and felt nothing but sadness and the urge to punish ourselves back into the size of our former selves? And how has that served you?
There was always that 00s diet culture idea that it was great to have a dream outfit that you wanted to 'get back into' as motivation - a pair of jeans you bought because they were a bargain, but don't actually fit, or a dress you wore and loved... several years ago when your body was different.
I love the idea - that is now attempting to counter that position across body positive accounts on social media - that instead, you have to (where financially possible of course) dress the body you now have without laying judgement onto yourself about the number on the tiny label that's tucked inside. If you're going to live for today, you should probably dress for it too.
It reminded me of a great post by recent second-time parent Ashley James about sizing up to look and feel better.
In a caption showing her body wearing a bigger size shorts, she wrote: 'It blows my mind that I used to get so caught up on a clothing size when bigger sizes are so much more flattering and literally no one knows or cares what number the clothing is.'
Adding that instead of squeezing herself into a size 10 four months after giving birth, she exchanged the shorts for a size 14, she wrote: 'When we’re constantly trying to squeeze into small clothes, we can feel like our body is a problem. Like if you wore small shoes you'd always be aware of your feet! You feel your belly digging in when you sit down, see love handles when you stand, have bubble b00bs - whatever it might be. But it’s not our bodies that are the problem, it’s that the clothes just don’t fit. And there are ones that do fit out there. Simple solution.'
Of course, it's not always a simple solution, most of us don't have the resource to buy a whole new wardrobe, but there are ways to make yourself feel comfortable until you can afford new pieces gradually here and there, or (if you think it's likely) your body changes again. For instance, I am now a fully converted Vinted addict and I've managed to sell lots of bits my two have long abandoned and grown out of and (sorry kids) used the credit to buy clothes that fit the body I have now, which isn't just bigger, but has changed shape and looks better in different items.
So while I won't be popping to Celine to replenish my wardrobe, I do praise Molly-Mae's comments and posts in a world that says celebs need to be all about the bounceback.
Because so much diet culture is ingrained in us, it can be hard to be a walking-talking instagram caption in your own bedroom. Many of us will - much as we try to override our brains - struggle to be 'grateful for our stretch marks', or 'honour the body that gave us our children'. In reality, many of us - well, speaking for myself tbh - will find it hard to look in the wardrobe and the mirror and find peace easily.
That's why it's important that women like Molly-Mae and Ashley are vocal about the idea of changing your size, not your body - if it's messages from celebs and the media that have made us think a certain way about ourselves, then surely it can be part of the remedy too.
Molly-Mae in particular is someone who - with 8million followers - could be part of that change, just as she was when she talked about wearing a bikini on holiday in June, six months after the birth of her daughter Bambi in January.
'I spoke on my YouTube about how I don't think I'll ever want to reach for a bikini on holiday again/feel confident in one,' she said. 'I didn't even bring any with me on this trip! But today I went to the shop here and bought one because I realised WHO ACTUALLY CARES!
'The thought of putting on a bikini before the holiday is always much more daunting than doing it in the moment and whilst on the trip... pack the bikinis mamas. And my girls who don't normally, I promise you that no one's judging/cares.'
When it comes to packing the bikinis, I'll be honest and say sorry Molly-Mae, I've just actually bought an amazing long-sleeved one-piece to stop me getting burned shoulders while running in and out of the sea with my two over-active kids. I get the message, but I'm prioritising suncover - and it'll take more than a post by Molly-Mae to undo 38 years of messaging about women's bodies.
But her post about changing up her wardrobe did make a chink in the armour - and hopefully it will for thousands of other women too.