Being Comfortable.

I've never been comfortable in my skin. I don't think there was every a time where I felt great about the way I looked. I'm hoping to raise my daughter differently - with a treat your body kindly, you're perfect the way you are kind of mentality.

Anyways, the closest I've gotten to being comfortable with how I looked was probably last summer right before I got pregnant. I was at the lowest weight I've ever been at in my adult life, and probably since early high school. I was comfortable wearing shirts that fit, and happy with my jean size.

All that changed once I got pregnant though. Now I am completely 100% comfortable with myself. I know it's because I'm pregnant and I know that my body is doing amazing things, shifting organs and growing a human. Even though my hips and thighs are wider, my face is chubbier and my chest is larger (awesome. Just what I wanted), I love my body. I'm confident when I walk around the mall or go out grocery shopping. If it was summer, I'm pretty positive I would be one of those ladies rocking a bikini while pregnant even though I've rarely worn one before.

I really wanted to change my mindset and attitude before having kids. I wanted to push away all the negative thoughts about my body and start treating it right. Especially once I found out that I'll have a daughter, I want to teach her not to compare her body to other people. Treat her body right, feed it foods that makes it strong. Encorporate activity into our lives, not because we have to, but because it makes our bodies healthy and strong. I wasn't raised in that type of environment, but I've changed since my teenage years. However, I notice that when the women of my family are around, I slip right back into my old ways, talking about disliking our bodies and wishing we could loose just a few more pounds. I don't want my daughter to think like that, and I'm going to be her main source of information for a while.

I love the feeling of not worrying what the scale says. Granted, I haven't really been eating the healthiest, but I know how to. I know how to properly fuel my body, and push it to its limits. I started to enjoy exercise, even though it's getting a lot harder now to convince myself to get up from my chair, I know I'll get back into it. I hope this feeling of complete confidence sticks around, and I'll try to remember that if I'm unhappy with my body, I've got a little girl watching how I act about it. And most importantly, I'm growing a human, my body is doing amazing things, it's all worth it.

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Can you ignore the media's message about the "perfect body"?