Mommy Monday - Trading Insecurities for Memories

Hey guys! If you're new to my blog and/or Mommy Monday, welcome! When I was pregnant with my son (now two - almost three!) I had no idea what I was about to experience postpartum. I was completely in love with my perfect baby boy, but also very overwhelmed, emotional and worried. I started this Mommy Monday series to hopefully provide support, resources and connections between moms. You can read about my postpartum experience HERE.

Today my friend, Rashelle, is talking about her insecurities with body image as a mom. It's tough watching your body change during pregnancy! And then the uphill battle we have to climb to feel like ourselves again. I completely relate to this post and I hope I can relax and enjoy my kids more (instead of worrying about my back fat bouncing around while I chase after my kids!! LOL, but not funny.)

Rashelle and I met via Instagram! It's crazy how this little community we are creating can help us to build new and real friendships with people we wouldn't have met otherwise. She is also a blogger and you can check that out HERE. Enjoy!

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My thighs have cellulite, my breasts are too saggy, my tummy is flabby and where did that underarm jiggle come from? For as long as I can remember, I have struggled with my weight/body insecurities and how they affect my life on a daily basis. For me, its an ongoing, every day struggle, from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed. I have tried every diet, “get skinny quick” program, diet pill, workout dvd, you name it and I have probably tried it. Getting to where I want my body to be is an ongoing struggle, but I am working on it, some days more than others, but I am getting there.
Summer has arrived which means swimming pools and let me tell you I have avoided them for years! The thought of wearing a swimsuit gives me extreme anxiety (even saying swimsuit makes me cringe.) I don’t care if you are tall, short, small busted, big busted, are extremely fit, have never worked out a day in your life or if you have had a baby or not, chances are you are a little scared to be in that swimsuit.

This summer is like none other as I have two kids, one being a 3 year old son that is obsessed with water.  About a month ago he started asking me multiple times a day if we could go to the pool, because of my insecurities, I found myself making every excuse in the book as to why we couldn’t go and that wasn’t fair to him, so I finally gave in. I didn’t even own a swimsuit so I was the mom that was a little lot insecure of her post-baby body, that was fully clothed, dipping her toes in the water. One day as we were leaving I asked Preston, “ Did you have fun at the pool today?” and his response was “How come you never get in the pool with me?  I really want you to come in the water and play with me, mom” …..my heart broke. Was I really letting my insecurities affect my son? Its my job as a mother to teach my kids how to be confident and how to overcome insecurities they might have (of course my hope is that they will never develop insecurities at all, but come on, lets be honest here) …maybe I should learn overcome my insecurities first. Having insecurities doesn’t make us weak and it doesn’t have to define who we are, it just means we are human! We feel and hurt and sometimes more then we like to admit, but I couldn’t believe I was setting a horrible example and modeling unhealthy behavior to my children. I needed to figure out how I could overcome my insecurities in a healthy way so that someday I can guide my children to overcome theirs.

I loaded both kids in the car and headed to Nordies and tried on tons of swimsuits (why doesn’t Nordstrom serve wine for women trying on swimsuits? I definitely could have used a glass, or a bottle, to help get me through that torture) and I told myself I wasn’t leaving until I picked one out.
Fast forward a few days later when Preston asked if we could go to the pool. I knew this was coming, but I kept checking the forecast hoping it was going to rain, but of course it was sunny and 100 degrees so off to the pool we went. The first thing I found myself doing was comparing my body to all the other moms, I wanted to run sprint out of there, but I sucked it up and took off my swimsuit cover. Preston got into the pool and immediately yelled “ mom, come in the pool with me” , so I took a deep breath and jumped in….his face instantly lit up with happiness and at that moment, all of my insecurities seemed to fade away. We had the best time giggling, splashing around together and making memories that will last a lifetime.

From that day forward I told myself… I refuse to miss out on my kids pool induced giggles because of my insecurities. I refuse to sacrifice memories because of my flabby tummy and cellulite. At the end of the day its not about me, its about my kids and I want them to remember splashing and twirling in the water with there mom and jumping off the edge of the pool into my arms. I want them to be able to look back and remember that their mom was there with them having fun, not just sitting on the sidelines observing.

I want to encourage all of you beautiful moms out there to put your insecurities aside, put on that swimsuit and jump into the pool with your kiddos… I promise you wont regret it!

My son just turned 3 on the 24th and we had a pool party to celebrate!

XO,
Rashelle

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