Embracing Your Postpartum Body: Quick Confidence Boosters

Embracing Your Postpartum Body: Quick Confidence Boosters

Embracing Your Postpartum Body: Quick Confidence Boosters

A few weeks ago, I was minding my business feeling really good about myself in my flowy Free People dress. I stepped on the train listening to a podcast and I immediately found a good spot to stand. It was rush hour and I didn’t expect to get a seat on the packed train. Again, I proceeded to mind my business when a lady sitting in front of me indicated that I should remove my headphones as she had something to say to me. I thought she probably knew me or my family from somewhere but instead, she looked at my midsection and asked me if I was pregnant and would like to sit, I answered that I wasn’t and didn’t want to sit. She got really embarrassed and stated apologizing which made a few other passengers stare at us and make this already awkward interaction even more awkward.

Embracing Your Postpartum Body

As I shared on Instagram, I felt embarrassed and for a while, all sorts of crazy thoughts went through my mind. Was it really that bad? My midsection must be out of the ordinary huge! I’m a pretty confident person but I’m not perfect so this threw me for a loop. I ended up using a few confidence boosters that I always go to whenever I’m having a tough time embracing my postpartum body. I thought it would be fair to share them with you because I know from the conversations I had in my DMs that I am not the only woman who struggles with this.

Embracing Your Postpartum Body

Remember you don’t have to change your body to feel better about yourself. Do these things now!

Embracing Your Postpartum Body

Positive self talk.

We should all be our own BFFs because we listen to our thought all day long and the most important thing we can do is to keep that chatter positive AF. I can be negative by nature so to pull myself back from going wild with my thoughts that day, I focus on being present and identify the negative thoughts, then say something positive about myself. For instance, I had an important call recently and I was really nervous and I thought they must think you sound stupid and immediately called out the thought and said to myself, they probably didn’t notice and if they did they understood.

Affirmations

Yes, this falls under the umbrella of positive self-talk but affirmations are the foundation. Write out a few affirmations that make you feel about your body like “My body is healthy and I respect it.”, “My body is healing and nourishing my baby” & “My body is energized.”

Don’t stop with just thoughts, others may think you sound crazy but speak to yourself in a mirror. Look yourself in the eyes, and say nice things to yourself.

Cheerleading Squad.

Yes, your own cheerleading squad goes a long way when you need a confidence boost. Make a deal with a girlfriend to call each other when you need reminders of how bombdiggity amazing you both are. Your squad can be different people for different scenarios. Your significant other, your sister-friend, auntie, mother, coworker, etc. anyone who can speak light into you. I immediately texted my husband when this happened and he made the situation lighter by joking with me because he knows laughter is my medicine.

Gratitude Journaling

If you’ve been following me for a while you know that gratitude journaling is my go-to tool for any challenges I face. It’s powerful to be thankful in tough moments. When I need a confidence boost about my body, I thank the universe that my body carried three healthy children to term, I had three incredible births—two of which were all natural, I can move and dance the way I like to, that I can hear my children’s laughter, my beautiful dark skin under the summer sun, my tight curls that are growing back little by little daily, etc.

Music

Music is powerful in shifting your mood no matter what you’re experiencing. We all have the go-to songs that make us feel beautiful whenever we hear them. Make a playlist for when you a quick confidence boost. I mean who doesn’t feel amazing listening to Beyonce Diva?

Focus on self-care.

I’m less confident when my self-care tank is low. If I’ve been neglecting my needs it’s harder for me to feel confident and embrace my postpartum body.

Follow inspiring women who remind you of yourself on social media.

Social media is a big part of our lives since we spend so much of our time on it. We have to be smart about what we’re internalizing while we’re scrolling. Quickly mute or unfollow anyone who makes you feel uncomfortable or bad about your body. If they make negative comments about your body type they shouldn’t be in your feed because you would unconsciously start judging yourself too. Quickly do a sweep through the people you follow and then look for women who you can relate to and who posts content that makes you feel good and whole. I’m one of those women 😉

Be your own IT girl!

The girl you admire the most and who inspires you the most should be YOU! Remind yourself daily that you’re IT. That doesn’t mean you don’t acknowledge and support other women but that you do so with more confidence knowing that you’re incredible too.

Share your tips for a quick confidence boost when you’re struggling with embracing your postpartum body below!

You may also like:

How to feel like yourself again after losing your identity in motherhood. Read it here.

Things to do When You Feel Like You Lost Yourself in Motherhood
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