strut
strət/Submit
noun
verb
1.
walk with a stiff, erect, and apparently arrogant or conceited gait.
“peacocks strut through the grounds”
synonyms: swagger, swank, parade, stride, sweep, sashay
“he strutted around his vast office”
As I munch on this sneakers bar of chocolate which I know I shouldn’t as I haven’t reached my ideal snap back weight goal, I get to thinking how motherhood is all things beautiful but also not a bed of roses (something we usually choose NOT to acknowledge). Being a first time mother, I must admit there are times when my anxiety is alarming because…..Ummm! “Motherhood is NOT easy” and I could easily let myself go and forget to take care of myself. Easily. Have any of you guys experienced this postpartum? Doing what I do and feeding my mojo on the “LOOK GOOD FEEL GOOD” motto keeps me in check however hard and almost impossible it is to strut (feel good about myself and proud of the new me) – plus, we all love those compliments so I wanted to share with you lovelies a few tips I adopted into my life to help me get my strut on after I had “our” son Ehan and get my groove back.
Accept Change:
Acknowledgement is the first step to recovery therefore for you to Strut you need to accept the changes in your life especially for us the first time mums – Accept that your life has changed and will never be the same after the baby (make this change as positive as you can), Acknowledge that your body has changed after moulding and carrying a little human for that long, Accept change in general and this will be your first step to strutting postpartum. Once you accept all the change, you will know exactly what you need to work on to feel and look your best again.
Rest up:
It might be almost impossible to rest as much as you need to with an a new born or infant especially if you don’t have much help around, personally I was unlucky in this sector (check out my after delivery story HERE for details and be sure to Subscribe to my channel). Remember you won’t be at your best strut when your body is in zombie mode so try the best you can to get your rest when you put the baby down for naps (which is simply hard for me, I feel more energized when Ehan is sleeping) and if you are lucky to have friends and family offering to help and give you a break, please take it. We are encouraged to have 7-8 hours of sleep but this is almost impossible as you will have to wake up and feed the baby so accept help if it’s offered. Have a spa day, we both know you NEED it.
Have company:
GOOD VIBES ONLY. If you have watched my YouTube videos, you must be knowing how I emphasize the importance or postpartum depression awareness as this is something we tend to ignore in our society. After I had my little bossman, I reached a point where I just needed to be around people – talk and laugh it out to erase the dark cloud of sadness that was trying to creep up on me all the time. Keeping positive company made me much happier and this reflected positively on my outlook. Avoid people who are going to keep on pointing out what you are doing wrong with your baby, how much weight you gained, etc and have completely nothing positive to say. Be Happy, Happy looks good on you!
Work towards your ideal Snap back:
Even I wouldn’t believe the numbers when I stood on that weighing scale early this year right before I had Ehan (even if I told you, you wouldn’t believe – the nurses were shocked too! But the numbers barely match my frame) . In utter shock and shame, I knew I had to do something about these numbers once I delivered my son because I needed to feel good about myself as a mother in order to exhibit the best Maya to look after her son. However, i would like to urge all women out there to remember that we all have different body types and metabolisms hence your snap back will be different from mine and therefore one shouldn’t succumb to society’s pressure of the quick snap back. Take your time but endeavor to take action.
Dress The Part:
Sometimes you are just not in the mood to dress up – I know, me too! However you gotta look good to feel good so you have to dress the part but most importantly you have to dress up in the appropriate pieces to endeavor your absolute comfort. With the massive body changes, your wardrobe might need a little adjustments- maybe a few additions here and there. One thing I miss about my life before Ehan was the ability to go bra-less without any worry in this world LOL. However I must admit the major change that has happened to my wardrobe is in the shoe department- firstly my foot just happened to go up a size (who can relate to this struggle?) and with my love for heels I needed to look out for more comfortable shoes to make my strut easier. I mean, no one wants to be carrying an infant, diaper bag and all that baby baggage with uncomfortable shoes, so stock up on shoes that will give you the utmost comfort (Like these Blocks from Bata – heaven sent!)
What have you guys been doing to get your postpartum strut on?
Dress – H & M
Shoes – Bata
Be sure to add me on Instagram @itsmayabee and SnapChat itsmayabee11
Stay Fab
XOXO
MayaBee
