Body Issues

Ooooh dear, here we go. You know, one thing I've learned is that we truly are our harshest critics. Ask any woman what she doesn't like about her body, and you'll likely get a laundry list of "problems" that you, or anyone else for that matter, would have never even noticed.

And I gotta be honest, I've never been really at peace with my body. I've always been too skinny, too tall, my arms and legs are weirdly long and disproportionate to my torso, my head is small, my nose is pointy, my teeth are big. I could go on and on. The point is, there are some things about myself that I really do like, but why do focus so much on what I don't like? Is it just because you just naturally notice more when you have to look at yourself in the mirror everyday of your life? Or it it society and the media's fault with their
'perfect" airbrushed models and actresses plastered everywhere, constantly reminding us of what we are not?

I wish it were easy enough to be reminded that the people in magazines are airbrushed, photoshopped, and that usually it's their job to look good. They have trainers and experts and stylists making sure they look perfect, not to mention the funds to do so.

It's funny how often you get compliments on things that you don't like about yourself. And I also thinks it's interesting how a person's personality can really affect how attractive they seem.

My point of this post is that ever since having Levi, I've been pretty hard on this ol' bod. During my pregnancy I loved the fact that I didn't worry so much about how my actual body looked. I was more concerned with what was happening inside, and how I could take the best care of myself. My body was a vessel and a temple.  Yeah, I hated finding clothes to wear, but that was just more of an annoyance. Nowadays I complain about how I still have a post-baby pooch, my belly button is still popped out (!), and I got visible stretch marks after giving birth (so much for celebrating my no-stretch marks while I was prego). As summer approaches, I've been getting nervous. I guess I look pretty good for having a baby 6 months ago. But the fact is that I feel like now there's even more pressure, that people are looking and judging even more. How many times have you heard people say "wow, she looks good for just having a baby!" or "I can't believe you've had 3 kids!" or "I couldn't tell if she was pregnant again or if she never lost the baby weight from her last one...".  People have expectations, good or bad. Or at least they seem to notice more. Ugh, I don't know. I'm rambling now.

So I'm just going to start trying my best to get over my issues and try to celebrate my body for what it is. It's a good body, really. It housed a growing BABY for 9 months. It labored and changed and did amazing things to give birth. It has nourished and sustained and comforted my baby boy for the past 6 months.



So here's my postbaby tummy, popped out belly button and stretch marks and pooch and all....

The other day I was flipping through a People magazine or something and I saw a picture of Gisele on vacation in a bikini, and guess what I noticed? Her belly button is still popped out too. ♥