You’re that mom. The one cradling that precious being in your arms, watching every little inch of their being and soaking up their beauty and purity. You take in deep breaths and inhale that sweet new baby scent and you hold their tiny fingers in your big palms. It’s the first few days, weeks or months of motherhood – you’re exhausted, drained but so in love. Everything in your being emanates a sense of responsibility and directs you to caring for your little bundle of joy, so much so, that looking after yourself during this time is naturally, the last thing on your mind. You yearn to care for your bubba, to hold and mould them. At a time when loving someone else seems so natural, loving yourself becomes unimportant.
The days pass and the showers lose importance. Brushing your teeth is ‘meh,’ combing your hair is a quest and eating has been replaced with cups of hot cocoa which are chucked down before the baby begins wailing. This new normal quickly becomes the real normal and before you know it, you’ve become accustomed to putting yourself last. Loving yourself is the last thing on your mind.
And whilst it’s easy to become that momma who is no longer in love with what she sees in the mirror, you don’t have to be her. Things can be different- better in fact.
I’m here to tell you that if all the gifts you can give to your child; unbreakable self-love is one of the most powerful.
Why?
#1
It teaches you (and your baby) that you can’t give from an empty cup.
No matter how much time and energy we spend giving to others, if we’re empty, we can never give our best, be our best or do our best. And logically, it doesn’t make sense to give from an empty cup. Who does that? …We do! We give and give without filling that cup back up but it’s vital that we replenish what’s been in poured out.
#2
A mom who lacks love for herself will produce children who don’t love themselves and are incapable of loving others.
It’s the mom who’s loud remarks about her weight echoed through the home, the mom who pinches her belly in front of the kids. She’s the mom who never says she’s beautiful and therefore nitpicks on her children’s supposed flaws. Do you want to be that mom? Or, do you want to be the mom who radiates beauty from within and as a result, her children soak it up and believe they’re beautiful too? You can choose which mom you’d rather be and it starts by making a choice and sticking with it.
#3
Self-love catapults you to new heights.
When you practise self-love, it becomes easier to do more, accomplish more and appreciate what you have even when you’re not achieving a million-and-one things simultaneously. Self-love opens up the mentality that you can choose to do more or receive more because you love yourself enough to deserve it, there’s no room for lack or inadequacy when love is around. You smile more, laugh more and welcome joy into your life because you love yourself enough to.
Self-love forces you to practise self-care which in turn means you care for others far better than when you’re running on empty.