Sometimes you just have to step outside your comfort zone to really find out who you are.
Becoming a mom has presented all kinds of challenges for me, but the hardest one for me to overcome was the toll that being pregnant and and birthing two babies would take on my body. Pregnancy is such a crazy experience that happens so quickly in the scope of things. One second you are pregnant and the next, you aren’t. It isn’t like a gradual weight loss that you body has time to adjust to. When I left the hospital after both of my babes, I weighed almost 20 pounds less than when I went in. It’s like waking up with a whole different body than you went to sleep with. That’s what it felt like for me anyway. It was really hard to come to terms with my postpartum body and feel confident in my new skin. And to be honest, it took me over a year to get back to the point where I felt like me again. Over that first year, and all of the time since, I have been putting all of the effort that I can to getting healthy, mind and body.
Last month, I got together with the ladies from Southern Belles Boudior to work on an extra special project for them and for myself. I had connected with Ashley through social media at some point last year. I loved how diverse their clientele was. How they promoted body positivity through their photography, and that they celebrated every body type and size in a way that allowed each woman to shine in her own individual way.
With my seven year wedding anniversary coming up, I took the leap and scheduled my session. While I was using the excuse of having the photos taken as an anniversary gift, what I really wanted to do is celebrate everything that my body has done over the last 33 years. And I could not have been more thrilled with the whole experience, and the photos are phenomenal! It seems almost taboo these days to be a mother and consider yourself sexy. HOW DARE YOU still show any skin after you’ve had children. But you know what? I’ve worked hard to get here. And I’m damn proud of it.
So, if you’ve ever considered doing a boudoir session, my advice is to do it! You will leave feeling like a million bucks, and you’ll have those photos to look at for the rest of your life.
Side note: Remember how I mentioned that this was kind-of a big deal for the photographers? Well, a journalist and photographer from The Oklahoman were at the shoot (they asked me for my permission, of course), and the article was on the front page. Super exciting!
