Well Cared For

I didn’t grow up spending a whole lot of time around babies. I had a steady babysitting job for a fairly long stint but it wasn’t something that I sought out heavily. It wasn’t until I had my own children that I really truly actively immersed myself into caregiving and mothering. As it goes with new parenthood, I learned how to give everything that I was both physically, mentally and quite literally all the time. It was a challenge learning how to forego everything that I was used to, prioritizing myself most of the time especially during the late months of that very first pregnancy. Motherhood is as motherhood does, it gives and it receives, blossoms and grows, overflows and then recedes.

I have never gone back to the person I was before I became a mother. I’ve fully embraced the armor that comes with parenting, and the complete severance of my selfish mentality. I am at the point however, now eight years and four children into it that I am actively trying to reclaim the essence of prioritizing myself, and how it benefits my family as well as me. One of my favorite parts of pregnancy is the sacred beauty that comes with carrying a child, and how, in addition to being very gentle and careful about every aspect of my physical and mental self, the world around me is also gentle and careful with me. I’m able to really nurture my body and mind without having to make excuses for doing so; Napping whenever (wherever!), eating when and what I want, exercising as a priority and making time for bubble baths to ease the aching in strained muscles and joints. This is a story I was happy to tell with Belabumbum, the gorgeous maternity line that helped to get me to this very comfortable place that felt so luxurious. I spent a great deal of time, especially in the wee hours after Evangeline was born caring for myself and for her. I’ve learned this much, that self-care is as crucial as any care we give our children.

Evangeline is seven months old, and a couple of months ago I regressed into a place where I wasn’t prioritizing myself. I wasn’t being very active, I started to forget to take my vitamins, staying up late to work became a habit rather than a fluke and I found myself completely exasperated by the time 5:00 rolled around again. It’s those sort of dips in life that end up being the nudges I need, and I realized that it was time to start being more aware of how I was caring for myself, and being intentional about making time for myself and my own self care. Getting out to walk along the beach even for twenty minutes has become something of a mental and physical salvation, and it makes a big difference if I have something that I want to wear out of the house that makes me feel great while being active. Belabumbum has developed a line of active wear that is made for during and after pregnancy (with convertible waistbands that can go above or below the belly) and the tops are built to support nursing mothers accessibly. All of these points are factors in making decisions that might not be overly natural or easy so much more so. I’m much more likely to get out of the house if I feel like I am comfortably dressed and it supports my lifestyle of nursing on demand.

With Mother’s Day around the corner, I often start thinking about how I might want to spend that day and how other mothers spend that day. We all have our own ways of spoiling each other and ourselves, and for me giving myself the time and proper gear that I love to treat myself well while being with my babies is exactly how I envision spending that day. Belabumbum makes their products with spoiling mommas at the forefront of their creative intention and it shows. Their lounge wear and active wear pieces are the perfect gift, either for a dear friend, my own mother, or even myself.

I’ve come a really long way from that young girl that only focused on herself before I had babies, and while I don’t long for those days, I am trying to reintroduce some of those principals into my life with four children, two pets, a husband and a job that all demand pieces of me. My life is giving myself to them, but I’d like to start giving back to myself, too.

Belabumbum just launched their Mother’s Day sale. Get 15% off site-wide as well as free shipping when you buy online and use the code MOM2015. Treat yourself, appreciate yourself.