Sharing my beauty journey after completing our family.
Okay, I jokingly tell my friends and family that I’m in my “mommy makeover” stage of life, but I really do hate that term. The day I got pregnant I became an entirely different person and I don’t want a makeover from that, I want to live this life and I’m proud of my body for what it did (literally birthing 4 children and nursing them exclusively for 14+ months each child!)
Now, I’ll be real honest here. That doesn’t mean that I look at this body and am like, “I love it!” every day. Some days, I wish my lips were fuller or the veins on the side of my leg weren’t so obvious. We all have those days and honestly, it’s only natural. We’re comparative creatures by nature and pair that with social media (and then pair that with being a social media persona), well… you get it.
I’m not trying to excuse any of the information I share with you after this intro, but I want to give a little context as to why I’m sharing all of this. I really believe in sharing the journey and the now. I want to let you know what I’m doing so you don’t compare yourself to me without knowing the true story. But most importantly, if you also have a similar insecurity or concern, you now have a ‘friend’ who is going through it and may have a solution!
At the end of the day, you are the only one who has to live in your skin. It’s the same with anything in life when you receive unsolicited advice or judgment – brush it off your shoulder because you are the only one who knows the truth and you are the only one living your life. If a family member or friend judges you for addressing a personal physical insecurity of yours, just remember that.
Okay, now that we’re through all of that, let’s go to it!
Why Now?
Up until now, I haven’t really invested much time or money into improving my appearance because I wasn’t done building my family and with every pregnancy and birth, everything changes. I didn’t want to go through all of this time and money and then have to do it all over again (and of course, some treatments and procedures aren’t even possible when you’re pregnant or breastfeeding.)
Sure, I used to get lash extensions at one point to address my pin-straight, short lashes. And of course, I did Invisalign (which I think improved my appearance and addressed some of my physical insecurities by 80%!) Aside from that, I had never gotten injectables or really looked into addressing some of my skin insecurities.
Now that I am done having kids and our family is complete, I want to have fun with all the beauty and anti-aging treatments that are now available so I can look and feel my best and move forward. My body is finally mine again!
My “Refinements” List
One night, years ago, after a couple glasses of wine, I made a list that I dubbed “Refinements.” These were all the things I wanted to do or “get done” to feel my best. Here’s the list and how it’s going:
Done
- Zoom whitening for teeth
- Dyeing my hair (balayage)
- Eyelash perm for curling eyelashes (lasts 4-6 weeks)
- Intimate lightening: this is a chemical peel for your lady parts to lighten up your bikini line and more private areas.
- Invisalign to straighten my teeth and correct a crossbite
- Botox for wrinkles: for my 11s in between my eyes, evening out my wonky eyebrows, and forehead wrinkles.
Going Through It Now
- Vein removal via sclerotherapy: I have reticular veins (a step above spider veins) on my legs from pregnancy.
Scheduled
- Microblading for the eyebrows: the hair on my eyebrows stopped growing (I barely pluck!) and I want some more fullness towards the ends and to fill in little gaps.
Need/Want to Schedule
- Fraxel: this is a laser treatment that improves tone, texture, and radiance for aging skin (or if you have scars/sun damage.) I want to do this for the lines around my mouth and also a few sun spots from years of tanning without sunscreen!
- Laser hair removal: I’d love to do my bikini line and armpits!
- Botox for lip flip: I’m really considering this, but need to talk to my specialist more. Apparently this is a subtle way to add a little volume to your upper lip without filler and my lips do curl up when I smile so I am a candidate.
On Loving My Body
And that’s the list! I’m going to follow up with blog posts as I complete the list! By no means is this meant to suggest that you need to ‘build’ a list like this or get treatments done. I’m just sharing what I’m working towards, in case some of you are also struggling with insecurities from a post-baby body! It’s a total mind whirlwind being pregnant and having kids – your body completely changes.
I love what my body did for me and I’ll be forever grateful for it, but that doesn’t mean I have to accept it exactly as it is – I can want to look better so I can feel more confident. It’s also 2023 and we can look a few years younger thanks to modern medicine and science.
I also think that moms tend to age more rapidly due to the stress on our bodies and every day! My biggest pet peeve is when moms are shamed for wanting to change their post-baby bodies! No shame whether you want to change or don’t. All bodies are beautiful and YOU are the only one living in your body!
I certainly think it’s important to be in a place where you love your body before making changes to it. I’ve done that work, I love my body, and now I Just want to *enhance* it!
I’d love to hear about any beauty procedures or treatments that have boosted your confidence and made you look and feel your best!
with love, Ali
