Celebrity

Chanel Iman’s Newborn Beat Serena Williams’ Daughter In This Category

Posted on August 16, 2018

Model Chanel Iman‘s newborn Cali Clay Shepard has beat Serena Williams‘ daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian, Jr‘s record for the youngest child of a celeb to have an Instagram account!

At the tender age of 3-days old, the baby girl’s Insta was up and running and already has over 7,500 followers! Baby Alexis’ account didn’t go up until the little girl born on September 1 was 16 days old.

https://www.instagram.com/caliclayshepard/

She follows behind singer and dancer Teyana Taylor and NBA’s Cleveland Cavalier player Imani Shumpert ‘s daughter Iman Tayla Iman Tayla Shumpert Jr who not only has had a verified account since a baby but is also a female junior, named after her dad — just like Alexis! (Great trend!)

Other celebrity babies with verified Instagram pages include reality TV star, singer and businesswoman Kandi Burruss‘s son Ace Wells Tucker; record-breaking winning Olympic Swimmer Michael Phelps; son Boomer Phelps, who has 765,000 followers and, Chanel, daughter to reality TV star Cocoa Austin and her husband Ice T.

Alexis Jr has a verified account of over 435,000 followers and has beat Ace Tucker who had over 425,000 but had 100,000 at just 8 weeks old.

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Celebrity

Serena Williams Opens Up About Dealing With Postpartum Blues

Posted on August 9, 2018

In the same week that one of her good friends Beyonce opened up about having preeclampsia before delivering her twins Sir and Rumi, 23-times Grand Slam Tennis champ Serena Williams revealed that she was in the middle of dealing with postpartum blues when she pulled out of the Rogers Cup tournament citing “personal reasons.”

In an emotional Instagram post, she wrote: “Not only was I accepting some tough personal stuff, but I just was in a funk. Mostly, I felt like I was not a good mom,” adding, “it’s totally normal to feel like I’m not doing enough for my baby…We have all been there. I work a lot, I train, and I’m trying to be the best athlete I can be. However, that means although I have been with her every day of her life, I’m not around as much as I would like to be.”

Williams, who recently gave birth to her daughter Alexis Olympia with husband Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, also offered gave up some encouraging words to other moms out there dealing with similar issues:

“Most of you moms deal with the same thing. Whether stay-at-home or working, finding that balance with kids is a true art. You are the true heroes.” Read the post and check out a TODAY video on the story below:

View this post on Instagram
Last week was not easy for me. Not only was I accepting some tough personal stuff, but I just was in a funk. Mostly, I felt like I was not a good mom. I read several articles that said postpartum emotions can last up to 3 years if not dealt with. I like communication best. Talking things through with my mom, my sisters, my friends let me know that my feelings are totally normal. It’s totally normal to feel like I’m not doing enough for my baby. We have all been there. I work a lot, I train, and I’m trying to be the best athlete I can be. However, that means although I have been with her every day of her life, I’m not around as much as I would like to be. Most of you moms deal with the same thing. Whether stay-at-home or working, finding that balance with kids is a true art. You are the true heroes. I’m here to say: if you are having a rough day or week–it’s ok–I am, too!!! There’s always tomm!
A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on Aug 6, 2018 at 3:24pm PDT

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Celebrity

Serena Williams Chases These Women who Returned From Motherhood to Win Grand Slam

Posted on July 8, 2018

Serena Williams is currently on the hunt for her 24th Grand Slam title during this year’s Wimbledon tournament.

If she captures the crown, she would have proved naysayers who think pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood signal the end of a fantastic phenomenal sportswomen’s career are wrong. Very wrong.

In fact, a lot of women report the challenge of momhood drives them to try even harder and to best their game, as Tennis.com’s Ed McGrogan correctly analyzed about Serena Williams’ likelihood of making a comeback.

“Whether Serena would consider continuing to play as a “challenge,” or something she simply wants to do as a mother, it’s far easier for me to picture her playing again, rather than the alternative,” McGrogan writes.

She would not be the first as several women have done similar — gone from giving birth to go on to beat the field and rise back to the top and earn a Grand Slam title.

The legendary Margaret Court , the pre-Open era woman who has won the most majors, 24, won three of them after giving birth to her son in 1972.

Williams, who has the most since 1968 when professional players were allowed to compete with amateurs, the so-called Open Era, is chasing Court’s record. With one more Grand Slam Title, she will tie it and with two more she will surpass it. If Williams follows Court’s lead, she will break the record, albeit now is a time when the field of competition is even tougher than ever before.

Kim Clijsters won three of her 4 Grand Slams after the birth of her child.

Lindsay Davenport won 3 of her 55 Career titles after giving birth to her son.

An Olympic Gold medalist and seven times Grand slam winner, in 1914, Dorothea Lambert Chambers became the first mother to win a Grand Slam crown.

There are at least two other major female players to make mommy comebacks and silence all the critics and naysayers!

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Celebrity

Pippa Middleton says Serena Williams is Her Fit Pregnancy Inspo

Posted on July 3, 2018

Pippa Middleton is skipping her sis Kate Middleton and looking across the pond for her pregnancy spirit animal: Serena Williams.

The sister of the Duchess of Cambridge, who announced her pregnancy early in the year, wrote in her regular column for Waitrose Kitchen, the monthly magazine for the Waitrose chain of British supermarkets, Waitrose that she sees Meghan Markle‘s buddy Williams as exemplifying what she would like to do whilst preggers and afterwords.

“I’ve been a tennis fan since childhood, as a player and spectator, and have been keen to continue playing safely throughout my pregnancy,” she wrote. “Take Serena Williams. She famously proved that women can play a high level of tennis from two months (when she won the 2017 Australian Open) up to eight months.”

She also pointed out Williams’ perseverance as a source for inspiration.

“Few of us can relate to this elite excellence,” she stated. “But if you’re a healthy, well-trained player with an uncomplicated pregnancy there’s no reason why you can’t continue a good level of tennis.”

No lies told here, Pippa!

Daily Mail recently reported that Pippa has decided to continue playing tennis while pregnant. Well we know where she got that idea from…. (smile)

Williams returned to Grand Slam and passed the first round.

h/t Pure Wow

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Celebrity

Serena Williams Returns to Tennis, Launches Self-Named Athleisure Line

Posted on June 4, 2018

Serena Williams returned to world championship tennis 8-months after giving birth to her first child, now 8-months old Alexis Olympia Ohanian, and suited up for the occasion in a black body suit that has been called a Wakanda– Black Panther-inspired and Super Hero catsuit.

“Catsuit anyone? For all the moms out there who have a tough recovery from pregnancy – here you go,” the 23-time Grand Slam Tennis Champ captioned an Instagram post of herself styling and profiling in the suit about to give up a fierce serve. “If I can do it, so can you. Love you all!!”

View this post on Instagram
Catsuit anyone? For all the moms out there who had a tough recovery from pregnancy—here you go. If I can do it, so can you. Love you all!!
A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on May 29, 2018 at 12:05pm PDT

Page Six hypothesized that the outfit selection was timed with the release of Williams’ self-named 13-piece Athleisure wear collection, her first independent line.

View this post on Instagram
The wait is over. Serena is officially here! Hit the link in the bio and be the first to rep S. ?????????? #BeSeenBeHeard
A post shared by Serena (@serena) on May 30, 2018 at 6:02am PDT

“Introducing Serena, my first independent clothing line for all the ladies out there being awesome,” the 36-year old, 5’9″ phenom states in the ‘about us’ section of the line’s webpage. “My designs are inspired by strong, sexy, sophisticated, sassy, sure, smart, stylish, silly, and spontaneous women who are living their best lives, or making it up as they go—kinda like me.”

She joins our other Bellyitch Bumpwatch alums who have their own athletic wear lines including Beyonce who has Ivy Park…

Kate Hudson who reps Fabletics and Carrie Underwood who has Calia Studios.

Kate Hudson’s Fabletics Line

Williams already endorses and is the product ambassador and spokespersons for other clothing brands and lends her names to some collaboration, like these below:

However, Serena, is her first independent line.

Editor’s Note: Personally, I am feeling them because I live in sweats and love to rock mock t-neck crop tops. So me! So the mom on the run, who manages several projects at the same time while trying to keep her household in order and still feel feminine and sexy because she may be a wife also.

The new mom won’t stop. She is also featured in the upcoming July issue of Harper’s Bazaar! Can’t wait to read it! Congrats on the new line!

View this post on Instagram
Excited to be on the cover of the July Issue of @bazaaruk which celebrates the power of women! Out tomm! #BeingSerena hair @angelameadowssalon makeup @natashagrossmakeupartist
A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on May 30, 2018 at 4:43am PDT

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Celebrity

Serena Williams’ New Reality Docu Series Chronicles Pregnancy Thru Delivery

Posted on May 2, 2018

I didn’t get an advanced media viewing of Serena Williams’ new HBO docu series Being Serena but TV critic Linda Jones of NPR did and here is a glimpse of her review of the project:

It that follows an elite athlete through pregnancy, childbirth, a wedding, and her return to competition takes as its subject, much of the time, her body. One of the intriguing parts of Being Serena is that visually, it worships her athleticism but respects the work it takes for her to look perfect all the time in pictures. You will see her without makeup, but you will also see her put on her makeup. She is candid about her public and private faces, her public and private bodies. The traditional grace of Serena the athlete sits comfortably alongside not only her very pregnant self, but also her during-childbirth and just-after-childbirth selves, which look very differently, but just as unmistakably, graceful.

The first two half-hour episodes don’t reveal anything unexpected about Williams, but they offer little glimpses that are a lot of fun, particularly for her many fans. You see her father come to meet her daughter, you see her working out while very, very pregnant, and you see her sing — rather adorably — to her baby and pets. If you like Serena Williams and you like the idea of passing uncomplicated time soaking in her charisma (and her blinding excellence), there’s no reason to resist.

The show premieres today, May 2 and you can read the rest of the NPR review here.

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Celebrity

Serena Williams’ Unseeding Shows What Happens to Women who Offramp to Have a Baby

Posted on March 22, 2018

Serena Williams left tennis at the top. She was the No. 1 player in the world when she took her maternity leave more than a year ago, coming off of an Australian Open win. She missed 13 months, and now she’s back. The problem? She’s unranked, and she’s entering this week’s Miami Open as an unseeded player against Naomi Osaka, who won at Indian Wells, where Williams just played her first event in over a year.

Miami Open tournament director James Blake — once ranked as high as No. 4 in the world — doesn’t think it’s fair to punish Williams so severely for taking time off tennis to become a mother, and he’s making it clear as Williams prepares for Wednesday’s match.

“It makes sense to protect someone who goes on maternity leave,” Blake said, via BBC. “The rules should help her get the benefit of an easier draw and a better path. These kind of things shouldn’t happen. She has won this title so many times that she needs protection. It’s not as if she left because of injury and lost her passion for the game. She had a kid, which we should all be celebrating, so when she comes back there should be a grace period where she can still be seeded.”

“It’s a kind of punishment, which is tough,” Blake continued, per the Washington Post. “I hope they revisit those talks, although it will be too late for her unless she decides to have another child.”

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Celebrity

Serena Williams’ Post-Delivery Trauma: Lessons for Future Moms

Posted on January 11, 2018

Oh My! Serena Williams candid and public recent reveal of her post-birthing experience in a recent Vogue magazine cover story shows why it is important to know your body, your medical history and be your own advocate.

In the feature article , the 23-time Grand Slam Tennis champ and first-time mom relayed her experience of having to coach the medical staff at the hospital she delivered her daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian, Jr. .

.@serenawilliams and her daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., star on the cover of our February issue! Read the full interview: https://t.co/M3yiDQje6I pic.twitter.com/XLwLOLSsWJ
— Vogue Magazine (@voguemagazine) January 10, 2018

From Miami Herald reporting:

The next day, Williams, who has a history of blood clots, felt short of breath.
The tennis star, 36, informed docs that she thought she was having another pulmonary embolism, a blockage in an artery of the lung.
The doctor soon performed an ultrasound on her legs, which revealed nothing.
At her insistence, Serena was soon sent for a CT scan, which did reveal several blood clots in her lungs. As she had predicted, they put her on a heparin (anticoagulant) drip.
“I was like, listen to Dr. Williams!” the Palm Beach Gardens resident told the fashion mag.
That wasn’t enough.
Soon after the clot drama, her C-section wound popped open from coughing from the pulmonary embolism. In surgery, doctors found that a hematoma, a pooling of blood outside of a blood vessel, had flooded her abdomen (the blood thinner caused the hemorrhaging).
A filter was inserted into a major vein, in order to prevent more clots from traveling to her lungs.
She was home a week later and stayed in bed her “first six weeks of motherhood.”

The lesson here: stick to your guns and insist if you feel off or if something is not right. Don’t be afraid to speak up or to empower your spouse, partner or a close family member to demand answers and appropriate care when you think you need it. Good for Williams for sticking to her guns and knowing herself and her body.

Williams later in the Vogue piece relayed having the Baby Blues and fluctuating emotions. She looks stunning on the cover in a crimson Versace dress. Jennifer Meyer earrings. Eva Fehren bracelet.

Editor’s note: I am traumatized for her and am amazed she even made an attempt to return to championship tournament tennis so soon after welcoming baby. She is a true champion!

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BumpNews

Serena Williams Says She Won’t Defend her Australian Open Title This Year

Posted on January 5, 2018

Serena Williams famously won the 2017 Australian Open while she was 9 weeks pregnant but on Thursday, the 23-tim Grand Slam champ said she won’t be defending her Australian Open title this year.

It has only been 5 months since she gave birth to her first child, daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian, Jr. The newly wed to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian turned Snaphcat to share the news, stating in part:

“My coach and team always said ‘only go to tournaments when you are prepared to go all the way’. I can compete – but I don’t want to just compete, I want to do far better than that and to do so, I will need a little more time. With that being said, and even though I am disappointed about it, I’ve decided not to compete in the Australian Open this year.

“The memory of last year’s Open is one that I will carry with me, and Olympia and I look forward to coming back again. I appreciate the support and understanding of my fans and everyone at the Australian Open.”

The tennis tournament begins on the 15th of this month.

The Australian Open tweeted best wishes shortly after her announcement, saying in part: “Good luck for the rest of 2018, Serena! We’ll miss you”

Unfortunately @serenawilliams has withdrawn from the #AusOpen.
“I can compete – but I don’t want to just compete, I want to do far better than that and to do so, I will need a little more time.”
Good luck for the rest of 2018, Serena! We’ll miss you ?
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 5, 2018

Williams had tried to push it by registering for a tournament last month but didn’t make it out the first round. She lost to French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in an exhibition in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday.

“I don’t think I am going to rate my performance,” Williams said. “I have plenty of comebacks, from injuries, from surgeries, but I’ve never had a comeback after actually giving birth to a human being. So, in my eyes, I feel it was a wonderful, wonderful match for me.”

Williams struggled with her serve and Ostapenko won 6-2, 3-6 and then 10-5 in a super tiebreaker, but as US Open opined, she “still impressed to take a set off the No. 7-ranked Ostapenko after nearly a year away from tennis.”

She can do it and there is a track record for it!

The legendary Margaret Court won three majors after giving birth to her son in 1972. Kim Clijsters won three of her 4 Grand Slams after the birth of her child. Lindsay Davenport won 3 of her 55 Career titles after giving birth to her son. There are at least three other major female players to make mommy comebacks and silence all the critics and naysayers!

Too soon, ma, too soon!

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Celebrity

Serena Williams Is Great At Crowdsourcing New Mom Advice From Followers

Posted on December 13, 2017

Now that Tennis Champ Serena Williams is a mom, she is doing a brilliant job utilizing her multi-million followers on social media by crowdsource gathering insight and information into motherhood.

Last Saturday, she posted a photo of her daughter Alexis Olympia who refused to leave her side while having a meeting. The endearing photo showed the adorable tot with her hand around her mom and clinging on for dear life. Too cute.

“Happy Saturday! I had a biz meeting at my house and Olympia insisted on staying with me. It was so cute.” Williams captioned the photo. “She had one arm around me and the other one on me. It was so sweet. Share a raw pic and story of your young one I would love to see! Love you all.”

To that request, she got close to 14,000 comments from moms sharing photos of themselves with their children, some as old as 30-year olds who are still quite attached to their moms!

Williams also recently sought out support from her followers by querying them on how long they breastfead their newborn or infant children. “How long did you breastfeed?” the Grand Slam Champ asked. “Is it weird that I get emotional when I even just think about when it’s time to stop?”

Fellow moms:

How long did you breastfeed? Is it weird that I get emotional when I even just think about when it’s time to stop? pic.twitter.com/YOz4oeIajH
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) December 6, 2017

Last week, Nike also announced that it planned to name one of its buildings in its complex after the brand ambassador.

“What a year it has been. First a grand slam win followed by a awesome baby… than the most magical wedding. What next? How about a building!!…” Williams shared of the news. “Nike announced yesterday that one of its new world headquarters buildings will be named after me. It will be the biggest on campus and is scheduled to open in 2019. I am honored and grateful! #TeamNike”

Williams and her husband Alexis Ohaniana welcomed their first child together, Alexis Jr., on September 1, 2017! That day, another marvelous Virgo was born. [Note: the author of this blog post is a Virgo]

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