I have nothing against women promoting body positivity and loving the body the good Lord gave them. In fact, I am all for it. As women, we should be proud of our bodies, our hair, our shape, that weird freckle on our foot, etc.
But let’s be honest for a moment. If you don’t love everything about your body… that’s totally all right. Especially as moms, we’ve been through a lot. Stretch marks, dark circles, nursing and post-nursing boobs (you know what I mean), lingering baby weight… it’s not always attractive. So while I’m not saying it’s okay to stand in front of your mirror and body bash, I’m also not saying that you have to oh-em-gee love everything about your body.
Case in point: my son gave me stretch marks. I managed to escape them the first time around, but during my second pregnancy (where I gained less weight, ironically), I came out on the other side with an adorable little boy and some really unattractive grooves across my stomach.
You can tell me that they’ll fade with time and that my stomach skin will tighten up again. That’s all well and good, but they’re still there now.
You can tell me that I should appreciate them, that they are a testament to my strength in carrying my son. I suppose they are.
But you can’t make me like them.
And I’m okay with that. I don’t need to love every part of my body all the time. But what I do need to do, what we all need to do, is not let dislikes and insecurities create a shadow over everything else. I recently went on a family vacation to Ocean City, Maryland. I could have hidden my stretch marks with a one-piece bathing suit or a cover-up, but I didn’t. I braved the Target fitting room mirror and went shopping four weeks postpartum to find myself a bikini that was cute and stylish, but also kept my boobs from having a party of their own.
Why? Because while I don’t like my stretch marks, I’m not going to let them – or the remaining baby weight or any of my other less than favored body parts- ruin my vacation. I don’t like one-piece suits and bikinis are easier to nurse your hangry baby on the beach – I speak from experience on this one. And honestly? I wasn’t even worried about those purple stripes while I was chasing my daughter in and out of the waves or dipping my son’s toes in the sand. Their squeals and smiles were way more important.
I still think we should promote body positivity, work to love our bodies and what they’ve done. But, if you don’t love everything about your mom bod, don’t sweat it. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself. And don’t let it get in the way of your beach vacation.
