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Makeup, Exercise & Dieting; What I Did to Find Myself and My Confidence After Giving Birth.
Credit: Photos By Santino
The most reoccurring comment I've heard since giving birth has been, "You look great for having a baby!" This makes me wonder, what is the standard in people's mind? What do people think honestly happens to a woman's body when she goes through the maternity process? I think we need more education about the prenatal process, about the birth process, & about the economics and politics of raising a family. And I think it needs to be done before kids graduate high school. Society is image hungry and obsess over what the female body should look like. I think women are taking back what their own idea of being a woman means. This is what I want to photograph.
So How Did You Gain Back Your Pre-Pregnancy Body?
“Birth ain't nothing...compared to breastfeeding.” - Ali Wong
Breastfeeding is freaking HARD! It hurts, it's tiring, for me it was engorgement(for others it is the opposite and milk just does not flow,) it was discouraging, and it got to the point where it was even bloody. I was at the point after 2 months of wanting to give up. If it wasn't for the support I had and the education about the benefits of breastfeeding, I probably would have given up. After tireless hours of pumping through the night to keep my supply, syringe feeding of collestrum, awkward football holds, uncomfortable chairs, breastfeeding consultations, mybreastfrend pillow, nipple shields, soaking wet sheets, and a soaking wet baby from srpayed milk and cascading tears of frusteration and pain, we finally got our rhythm and babe found his latch! Thank you to the advice of my sister, it was a simple fix of just finding a new position, which was laying down on my side so that babe could get a good latch. We were finally on our way to the road of breastfeeding!
No Judgement!
This article is not meant to chastise or to judge any mother or family for their choice on how to feed their baby! It is only to educate those who want to breastfeed that it can be difficult(not always) and that the benefits of breastfeeding is worth it! For me the benefits of breastfeeding include the following; it is free, breastmilk has many compounds that have not been synthesyzied in a lab yet, your breastmilk caters to your babies genetic needs and actually releases antibodies if your body reads that your baby is sick, it is convenient and requires no equipment, and it allows for skin to skin bonding with you and your baby. For me this has how I've been able to take my weight down after giving birth and has naturally sped up my metabolism.
What About Diet?
“Cutting out meat and sugar has inspired me to cook more, to cook healthier, eliminates unhealthy options at fast food joints, and encourages me and my son to eat more fruits and vegetables. ”
Breastfeeding has sped up my metabolism and has trimmed my body down to wear I am finally happy and confident. Not only this but it's helped with my post partum recovery being able to feed on demand for my son(not all women's milk comes in the same but pumping is so important just to get some breastmilk to babies.) Also after giving birth I have altered my diet. During my pregnancy I heard hypothesis about having a boy because I had such strong aversions to sugar. I wanted nothing to do with anything sweet. I was lucky that I didn't crave sugars because ever since my pregnancy I've cut those out and I've been able to shave off weight just by doing that. To be honest I still have exercised in about two years. Besides walking and lifting 30 lbs everyday, I do not go out of my way to exercise. I choose not to make that priority right now. So in order to maintain the body I want I have made some dieting sacrifices.
Not much either! I stopped eating meat after giving birth because my body was having a hard time digesting just about everything. That, plus the environmental effects the meat industry has, as well as the way the animals are treated are all contributing factors to my choice of dropping meat out of my diet. Cutting out meat and sugar has inspired me to cook more, to cook healthier, eliminates unhealthy options at fast food joints, and encourages me to eat more fruits and vegetables. Not only does this benefit me, but it also helps me to make creative delicious healthy food for my son and enables him to get into better dieting practices for both his and my present and future health. #healthyeating #postpartumdiet #postpartumbody #selflove #momdiet #babyfoods #healthybabyfood #mombod #selflove #postpartum #healing #healthylifestyle #laceyhowlindphotography #healthyblog
You do not have to break yourself as a mom by following the pressures of society. This post is to share some ideas for mom's looking to try something different. Everybody is different. The goal is to be healthy, to be happy, and for baby to be healthy and happy. #familylife #life #babies #babylove #thesearethedays #write
How Does One Find Confidence?
After giving birth I felt like superwoman! Like I could do anything! However, their were quite a lot of hurtles I had to jump through to get there. It took about three months for the pain to be bearable. I think I stopped brushing my hair for that amount of time. I wanted to shave my head at times because I could not get around to brushing my hair. I really started getting into LipSense & SeneGence during my postpartum healing process. I loved knowing if I could not brush my hair, brush my teeth, eat, put mascara on, or even change my clothes, at least I could put some LipSense on.
"Confidence comes from within..."
But it isn't just the products that give me my confidence. It was when I finally accepted the moments of discomfort as love that I was able to laugh, look at my son, laugh even harder from his glorious smile, & accept myself as a strong woman, as a caretaker, and as a life support for this amazing human that has entered my life.
Confidence comes from within and I had to find the right lesson to help me experience the words I've heard so many times.