Mum Tum Hiding Shorts: How I Turned Post-Baby Chaos Into Power

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2026-03-19T15:31:40+11:00

Discover how setting tiny, realistic goals and the right mum tum hiding shorts can turn post-baby chaos into daily confidence and real-body power.
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Postpartum › New Mum Guide › Fitness

The surprising data on mums and goals (aka, chaos with a spreadsheet)

If I look at the very scientific pie chart of my life, it goes like this: 40% trying to find my keys, 40% reheating the same cup of coffee, 20% pretending I have a five-year plan. And if you’re a mum, I’m guessing your stats are not wildly different.

We’re sold this fantasy that goal setting needs a colour-coded planner, a sunrise meditation, and a fridge that isn’t full of half-eaten yoghurt sticks. But most of us are out here setting goals like, “Don’t cry in the car park” and “Wear something that is not technically pyjamas.”

That’s why I love that Tony Robbins quote: “Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.” For mums, a lot of that “invisible” stuff is happening under our clothes and inside our heads — especially around our bodies.

Picture this: a Black woman in a crisp white EMAMACO tank, olive green bike shorts, arms up behind her head, looking straight into the camera, totally unbothered. That’s the vibe. Not "I’m hiding," but "I’m here. Full body, full story." That’s the energy I want for every mum who has ever stared at her reflection and thought, “Where did my old body go — and why did she leave without saying goodbye?”

The invisible goal no one talks about: feeling okay in your own clothes

After having a baby, my goals used to be psychotic. “New body by Monday.” “Run a 10k by next month.” “Become the kind of person who likes salad.” Absolutely delusional behaviour.

Then one day, in between washing bottles and Googling “why is my baby making that weird noise,” I realised my real goal wasn’t about a number on a scale. It was this:

I just wanted to get dressed in the morning and not negotiate with my wardrobe like it was a hostage situation.

No more tugging tops down over my mum tum. No more Houdini-level shapewear that required a three-person extraction team. No more sad, stretched-out shorts that whispered, “Remember 2016?”

My invisible goal was simple: feel strong and put-together in the body I have today, with the energy I actually possess (which, on a good day, is about 63% battery and one eye twitch).

From “new me by Monday” to “just get dressed”

Here’s what changed everything for me: I made the goal embarrassingly small. Not “transform my life.” Not “reinvent myself.” Just:

Put on one outfit that makes me feel like a functioning, hot, semi-organised human… and then live my messy life in it.

That’s where the right pair of shorts becomes less “cute purchase” and more “emotional support garment.” If you’ve got a mum tum (hi, welcome to the club, snacks are in the back), the wrong waistband can ruin your whole mood. The right one can make you stand a little taller, sprint after a toddler, and maybe even attempt a squat without feeling like your insides are filing a complaint.

Why mum tum hiding shorts aren’t cheating

Let’s address the little gremlin voice that says, “If I wear shaping shorts, I’m cheating.” No babe, you’re not cheating — you’re project managing your body.

There is nothing dishonest about smoothing, lifting, and giving your mum tum a gentle, loving hug. You’re not pretending you don’t have a story; you’re just choosing the chapter where you look and feel like the main character while you live it.

Think of it this way: you wouldn’t refuse a comfy bra out of principle. You wouldn’t say, “No, I must suffer in underwire to be authentic.” So why are we doing that with our stomachs?

My editorial pick: the shorts that actually keep up with mum life

If we’re talking tiny, realistic goals that make a huge difference, I have to tell you about the Shaper Move Shorts + Pockets - Black | Mum Tum Hiding.

These are not just “throw on for a quick selfie and then take off before you sit down” shorts. They’re designed to lift, shape, and highlight you so you can actually perform at your best, every single day — school run, supermarket, nap-time workout (or nap-time scrolling, absolutely no judgement).

They sit in that magic pocket of the Venn diagram where comfort, shaping, and “I still look like I’ve got my life together at 4pm” all overlap. And honestly, for around $35, they do more emotional labour than half the self-help books on my nightstand.

I’m obsessed with how they smooth everything while still feeling like pyjamas. If your mum tum needs a hug, this is the pair I keep reaching for — the secret weapon that makes leggings-and-a-tank feel like an actual outfit, not a cry for help.

How one tiny outfit goal can change your whole day

Step 1: Ditch the fantasy, name the real goal

Instead of “I will become a new person by Monday,” try:

“I want to feel comfortable sitting, standing, and chasing my kid without thinking about my waistband.”

“I want to look in the mirror and think, ‘Yeah, she’s doing her best,’ not ‘Who let her out of the house?’”

“I want clothes that work for this body, not the one in my camera roll from six years ago.”

Step 2: Build one go-to power outfit

Pick one combo that can survive the chaos:

A tank or tee you don’t have to tug at.

Supportive shorts that lift and smooth without feeling like a wrestling match to put on — that’s where something like the Shaper Move Shorts + Pockets - Black | Mum Tum Hiding come in.

Sneakers you can actually run in (even if the only thing you’re running from is a meltdown in aisle three).

Step 3: Let “good enough” be the new “perfect”

Your goal is not to become an inspirational quote. Your goal is to get dressed, feel supported, and then go live your very real, very messy life. If the shorts are on, the child is fed, and you’ve had at least three sips of coffee, congratulations: you’ve turned something invisible — your need for comfort and confidence — into something gloriously visible.

Your turn: make your invisible goal visible

So here’s your wildly realistic challenge for the week:

Set one tiny goal about how you want to feel in your clothes (not how you want to look in someone else’s).

Find one piece — maybe it’s a pair of mum tum hiding shorts, maybe it’s that EMAMACO tank — that helps you feel that way.

Wear it on a totally normal, messy, nothing-special day. School run, laundry mountain, emails, the lot.

Because the magic isn’t in the big, dramatic makeover. It’s in those small, shameless choices that say, “This is my body, this is my life, and I’m going to show up for it — even if I still have mashed banana in my hair.”

You don’t have to shrink to level up. You just have to get dressed in something that backs you up when you walk out the door. And if that something happens to be a pair of black, mum-tum-hugging shorts that feel like pyjamas and look like effort? Even better.

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