I Learned to Love ME Because of YOU

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My first baby was a boy. I never really had a preference, but I remember going to the ultrasound and hearing “IT’S A BOY!” I was ecstatic. Everyone says boys belong to their mommies and my heart couldn’t be happier. I was instantly in love. 

“IT’S A GIRL!”

In my family, dating back to my great-grandma, you were either a boy mom or a girl mom. No one got both. I had settled into the fact that I would forever be a mom of boys and didn’t even flinch when I got pregnant again. Here I was, two and a half years later, and I hear “IT’S A GIRL!” “What? A girl? Are you sure?” I was just starting to settle into this motherhood thing and now I had to learn how to be a girl mom

As time passed and my baby grew, so did her personality. I noticed very early on that she was watching my every move. One day, when she was about one and a half, I caught her looking in the mirror and pretending to straighten her hair with my hair iron. I laughed at first but then a wave of fear hit me. 

She was watching me.

She was listening as I told my sister I looked fat in this picture, and she was sitting there as I changed my clothes 10 times while complaining about my body. She was watching me not love myself the way I wanted her to love herself. She was perfect. She was beautiful, smart, and full of life. If I wanted her to grow up believing those things, I needed to show her they were true. At that moment, I knew I needed to do better. I needed to do better for her. 

She is 4 now and teaches me so much. She is girly and loves to paint her nails while at the same time making goals on a soccer team full of boys. She is gentle yet bossy and knows how to get what she wants. I never thought that giving birth to a girl would change my whole perception of who I was.

Little girl biting a soccer medal and showing her muscles

Because of her, I love my body. I made a promise to be strong to show her strength. I look at my body with love so that no one can ever tell her otherwise about hers. I will continue to pursue big dreams so that no dream ever seems too big in her eyes. 

My little girl, because of you I learned to love me. To all the moms out there that are struggling to love and accept themselves, remember you have little eyes looking up to you. 

Can you relate? Read this post about how one Miami mom learned to love and accept her post-baby body.

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