She’s being real! Teen Mom 2 alum Chelsea DeBoer (née Houska) exclusively reveals to In Touch that sharing her postpartum body with the world was “important” to her, in the hopes that she could empower other new mothers.

Pregnant Chelsea Houska Slammed Over 'Expensive' Diaper Bag
Courtesy of Chelsea Houska/Instagram

“I felt so insecure after all my other babies and like just seeing other people’s bodies, it seems like other people just like snap right back and it was confusing. And this time I just didn’t feel that way,” the 29-year-old explains. “I felt confident and I feel like I know my body and like what the process it goes through is, you know, at first, you know, it’s not the body that you’re used to seeing and that’s OK and you don’t even have to love it. You know, it’s just part of the process and it doesn’t stay like that.”

Chelsea took to her Instagram Stories in January 2021 to lament how difficult it can be to cope with the body changes that come with pregnancy — but she noted she keeps looking on the bright side. “Whenever I’m feeling insecure during pregnancy, I *TRY* to stop and take a minute to remember to be grateful to my body for creating LIFE,” she wrote. “That’s an incredible thing! But I 1000 percent have my moments of crying or looking at myself being like WOAH THESE BOOBS. Or holy s—t, this belly is huge.”

The 16 and Pregnant alum — who welcomed her third child, daughter Walker, with husband Cole DeBoer in January 2021 — went on to explain that she understood the plight that first-time moms face when it comes to bouncing back from pregnancy.

“I was hearing from a lot of women that, you know, some women didn’t know what your body looked like right after birth. If they don’t have any babies, they don’t know that you’re still gonna have a belly for a minute,” she continued. “Sharing just the whole process felt important to me. And I felt confident enough and secure enough in myself to do that this time. Whereas the other times I was also feeling insecure so I can relate to that also.”

Walker June DeBoer Photos: Chelsea Houska's Baby Girl Is Cute
Courtesy Chelsea Houska/Instagram

The mother of four — Chelsea is mom to Watson, 4, and Layne, 2, as well as daughter Aubree, 11, whom she shares with ex Adam Lind — also shared words of wisdom for other mothers who might be struggling with their postpartum body image.

“I feel like just knowing that this is just a process and you aren’t going to snap right back and being OK with not loving the way that you look and just knowing that being appreciative of your body and, you know, everything that it just did — [like] make sweet little babies,” Chelsea gushes. “I mean, you can be appreciative of your body without loving the way that it looks. You know, I think there is a difference and being able to know that and feel that, I think, is important.”

As for Chelsea, she won’t be doing the postpartum snap-back again. The MTV alum reveals she and her husband, 32, are finished having kids — they think. “The plan is to be done. I mean, it’s hard when you’re looking at like a teeny tiny newborn,” she raves. “And your heart is just like, you know, I love babies so much, but I think four is probably it. I’m 99 percent on that. So we’ll see.”

Have a tip? Send it to us! Email In Touch at contact@intouchweekly.com.