The last few months have been pretty sweet prepping for our baby boy to arrive, I'm feeling great so I feel grateful. We've done a lot of adventures outside, fishing, walking, cherished time spent with one another. I think that feeling good inside and out can make such a difference while pregnant. Staying active, eating yummy food and dressing my baby bump as comfy as possible makes me feel best. I was lucky enough to find a lot of darling dresses from different maternity shops and bring creative with a lot of my favorite vintage pieces. You may know we have a online shop and Etsy shop that sales maternity jeans, I wore a lot of our jeans the first 6 months of pregnancy but when that heat came I traded them in for shorts and stretchy maxi skirts:) Here are some of my favorite pieces below with some tips that may help you dress your bump❤️
To our incredible bodies
There are so many reasons I love social media, for one..... I love that we can have a voice and use it to empower one another, bring happiness and light. I think you can make social media what you want and for me I have made it a positive, loving place that has connected me to you and you to me so I feel grateful. With that said, I also understand that it can also have a negative effect on us, so much emphasis is put on how we look or how we should look. I shared a post awhile back about self acceptance & how I appreciate my body for all that it is capable. I can carry and nurture my growing baby, take care of my Goldie girl, my husband and at the end of the day give myself a little love too. I can do all this because I learned how to nurture my body, mind and soul. I love being pregnant and all the changes that come with it, the bump, buns and breasts...our bodies know what they are doing to make our babies and I think the process is amazing. For the most part I can say with confidence that I have a healthy relationship with my body but I was not always like this. I started modeling after high school, what I thought would be a dream job and a lot of fun turned into a not so happy place for me to be. A couple months in, I started to feel the pressure to be perfect. I started to judge what I saw in front of the mirror which led to restriction, over exercise and self doubt. It was a slippery slope that I could never conquer that I struggled with for years until one day, I realized I couldn't keep living like this so I started to look for new ways to change this mental & physical sabotage. I found my starting point, I was modeling in New York at the time and thought I would try yoga. I bought a Tara Stiles Yoga DVD, who is now a sweet friend and thought...what is it about yoga? everyone that practices has this beautiful peace about them and seems to move so comfortably in their skin. When I played the DVD for the first time, I tried to follow but i was super uncomfortable and I felt out shape but the more I moved the better I became. The best part was, I felt like I was doing something really nice for myself, like giving my body a warm hug from the inside out. I continued doing yoga at home on a daily basis and soon I noticed I started to treat myself better and really do what felt good for me. My food choices changed, my relationships changed, my body changed all for the better! Not just physically, I felt healthy, powerful and in control of how I wanted to live my life. I stopped getting on the scale, obsessing over what I ate and started living my life which led me to the best decision of my life, getting pregnant and soon after becoming a yoga guide. When I found out I was going to be a mama I knew I needed to be a strong example for my child, spiritually and physically. I needed to feed my body nourturing food, be active with no restrictions or self doubt. What i love about yoga is it helps us tap into that inuitive compass that's built into our body, we just need to figure out how to use it, it helps me to trust my body. In our house I try to make nurturing meals as much as possible, I have loved to learn how to make fun healthy meals that give us energy and nourishment. We eat whatever we want, we have lots of healthy goodies and not so healthy goodies but we keep it pretty balanced. When we want Oreos we eat them, when we want hummus and carrots we eat that without over thinking it. The fun thing to observe is watching Goldie eat, her favorite foods are eggs and chocolate but she knows how to listen to her body needs. Sometimes she wants to snack on broccoli, celery, apples or maybe she wants ice cream or gummy bears. Kids know how to eat intuitively, something we sometimes forget when we become adults. She stays active, eats when she's hungry or just wants a treat then goes off running. Kids don't deprive, they eat till they're full then move on. Yoga helped me tap back into that instinct of listening to my bodies own intuition.
My point of this post is...There is no magic pill or diet that can create a loving relationship to your soul and body. I don't have all the answers but I do know that doing things that feel loving and not punishing to your body and spirit creat happiness. If you can start doing these things like feeding your body and moving your body from a place of love you will find peace and love in what was given to you. I eat healthy because it feels good but so does indulging and when I do, I enjoy it! I don't beat myself up, I move on and keep living. When I look in the mirror I see what an amazing gift this body is, to do what it can and best of all, grow and birth my babies. I don't look in the mirror anymore and look at my cellulite and think...I can't get in a swimsuit! I look at myself and just see me, not perfect but a strong body with a happy spirit inside. I am so grateful for all the opportunities and hardships I have had because I am where I am because of them and hopefully I can a least help one person through my lessons. So I hope I have inspired you to give yourself a break, go take a dip in a warm bubble bath, go for a refreshing walk or jog, make a yummy meal for yourself or loved ones. Do things for you from a place of love and compassion and things will fall into place. If you ever have any questions please ask, I'm here with an open ear so don't ever feel alone. There are so many of us that struggle or have struggled with body image we just need to be open and ready to talk about it, we can all be there to raise each other up and empower one another! With lots of love, Jess xx
