Have Kids They Say...

I was never the mom who wore the destruction of my body from having a baby as a badge of honor.

Labor is hard. Even when it goes smoothly, the transition into parenthood is like being initiated into a thunder dome. It tries even the strongest of people and it’s something no one else can understand unless they’ve been through it themselves.

I remember prior to having my daughter, telling my husband that even on the toughest days, I was going to shower. I wasn’t going to be one of those new moms who went days without brushing her teeth or taking a shower or changing my undies.

Even if I had no time for the kind of selfceare I would want to have, I would have time for something small like a shower.

I didn’t want what happened during labor, how quickly it spiraled out of control and how difficult it was after to become an excuse for me.

I didn’t want the newborn phase and the pure exhaustion and elation that came with it to be an excuse to let myself go.

I knew that if I went there, it was a slippery slope for me neglecting myself, and that neglect would lead to my chronic pain kicking in.

I also knew, that for me, if I went there, I wouldn’t lose the baby weight and eventually that last 10 pounds of baby weight would just be 10 extra pounds of weight.

It wasn’t a reason for me to give up on my body or how I looked in my clothes.

It was, frankly, another injury I needed to overcome.

With love 💗 , care, and a whole lot of f-ing patience. Not just with myself, but with my new schedule of having a newborn 👶 , and with the physical capabilities OF my body.

This is what I learned through that process: 

Change comes from challenge but the challenge needs to be realistic. You have to meet your body where it’s at, without judgment or criticism, in order to push yourself to get the change.

Respecting your body and honoring it will get you change. Your body will respond to that love and support.

Trying to meet an unrealistic expectation for your life, your body, or where your head’s at, is only going to end in disappointment.

I also know that figuring out how to do this for yourself is overwhelming af.

Not just because you don’t have the time to figure it out because you don’t even know where to start.

But start you MUST so you can feel better. You deserve to figure it out because you deserve to feel better and to step into your own power and strength.

Ask for help, use the resources at your disposable to get you there, and don’t forget to take a deep breath. Change is a gradual shift, but it will happen as long as you continue to take steps forward.