Daring To Bare At 3 Months Postpartum? #DoveBeauty

When given the opportunity to write for the #DoveBeauty campaign, I got super excited. I’m not a guru on beauty tips or secrets, but I wholeheartedly believe in taking care of one’s inner beauty because it far outweighs the outside stuff in the long term. I am happy to spread that value through my love letters to Alina, in addition to this campaign. Writing last week’s post on my 5 Tips For Bridal Beauty From The Inside Out was easy; I felt beautiful on my wedding day, and therefore radiated my inner beauty without much effort.

But, when thinking of about this week’s post, I was stumped. How do I give tips on enjoying Summer weather, family vacations, swimming with your toddler, wearing cute summer dresses {forget about shorts!}, going out with friends and so on, when I don’t feel beautiful?

How does one dare to bare it all when they’ve just had a baby 3 months ago?

Before giving birth to Sebastian, I was prepared for this summer to suck in terms of self esteem and feeling pretty, but now that I’m living it, it sucks way worse. Ha! I don’t want to wear a bathing suit and I shy away from photos. Let’s not even talk about the limited fashion and other blunders that constant breastfeeding provides. I try not to dwell on it, but knowing I don’t look my best weighs on me {or is that the nagging baby weight?}. However, I learned a valuable lesson while brainstorming for this post: the secret to being beautiful when you already feel pretty is the same, and even more relevant, to when you don’t.

For me, the 5 tips I suggested for bridal beauty absolutely apply to postpartum summer beauty. So let’s review…

1.} Give yourself LOTS of moments to appreciate what has happened. You had a baby! You made a life! And that baby is going to grow faster than you can imagine. Cut yourself some slack this summer and stay in the moment. Remove the negative thinking.

2.} Be purposed in who you allow into your sphere of thinking. Maybe not you for, but certainly for me, the first months after giving birth are emotionally vulnerable. Keep those who love you and will support you with boasts in your confidence very close by. Criticism is just not appropriate right now. If like me, you may need a good supply of positive reinforcement to get back to your old self.

3.} Postpartum Moms need lots of supplies too. While packing baby’s diaper bag, don’t forget about your own needs! Moisturizer, foundation/face lotion with SPF, deodorant and maybe a nice smelling spritz goes a long way for a tired mommy. And so I don’t feel like a total hypocrite, let me disclose this to you now, I am total fail at this advice. I rely on my friends from advice #2 to make sure I don’t look like a disaster on most days.

4.} Smile. And get in those photos! Just do it. Then don’t even look at them. Store them on your computer and look back once you are feeling like your old self. You don’t want your kids to one day look at the pictures from your awesome family vacation and wonder if mom was even there. I am doing my best at following this advice, and to prove it {and hopefully motivate you to do the same} all these pictures are from the last 3 months since giving birth to Sebastian. Do I love them? Heck, no! Do I feel beautiful? Not outwardly. But I am daring to bare it all so that I document the excitement and love I have for my family during this specific Summer. Censorship because of vanity seems hypocritical to the values I want my daughter to live by. I’m trying.

5.} Let your husband appreciate your beauty as he sees it today. And appreciate his as well. I am NOT the best at this, but I truly do try. And I always think my man is flipping gorgeous, so there are no issues there.

I hope these little reminders have helped at least one new mom feel more beautiful this Summer! Having them written out, with photos of my loving kids, has helped to remind me of what’s important and to let the world see my inner beauty. Thank you, #DoveBeauty, for giving me the opportunity!

I was compensated for this post as a member of Clever Girls Collective. All the opinions expressed here are my own.