In the days of social media I guess it shouldn't be that surprising that being a mom opens you up to a ton of criticism. How do you feed your child, where do they sleep, what clothes you buy them, how much weight did you gain or didn't gain? Girl, the critique is endless. It takes a time when you are already super vulnerable and it intensifies it a tremendous amount.
I am sharing this with you because of something I have read recently. I am a big fan of crossfit. I have been doing it for a little over 5 years and I love watching others compete. Recently I learned of a new mom, Danielle Szpindor, who posted on Instagram that she noticed a dramatic fall in her instagram followers since she announced she was pregnant. She went on to say how she wasn't surprised because most of the 5,000 lost were males. The way I look at it is I guess they weren't interested in seeing her account evolve into being a badass mom. In my opinion, Danielle should be commended on all her hard work. Being pregnant and then becoming a mom is not even close to an easy job. It is hard and finding time for yourself while adjusting to your new life is near impossible. Not to mention all the critique we now go through because of social media.
In my own personal journey I went through 2 sides of this. With my first son I gained 40 pounds. I didn't exercise and did not monitor what I ate. I got the typical comments people think are acceptable to make, "are you sure it's not twins" "are you really 20 weeks" I really don't get why people think its acceptable to make any of those comments but you almost come to expect them now, how horrible. With my second son I was doing crossfit and continued throughout my pregnancy. I worked closely with a nutrition coach and my doctors and gained maybe 20 pounds. I was back to my pre pregnancy jeans about 1.5 weeks after I had my son. All was great except I was still open to critique. "You shouldn't lift anything" "What you're doing isn't safe" "Are you sure you are gaining enough weight" Girl, my mind was blown. Like seriously, no matter what lifestyle I chose for my pregnancy someone had something to say.
I'm sure this isn't anything new for many of you reading this. I just felt the need to share these stories because being a mom involves having thick skin. We need to look out for each other and show more positivity to our pregnant and new mamas. They are on a hard journey that they learn as they go. Not to mention everyone can use some kindness! Instead of saying or thinking something negative take the time out of your day and say something nice to someone else. I tend to do this a lot on social media. I look for women who are busting their asses to achieve their goals and I compliment them. I tell them to continue crushing their journey or to continue working hard. The feedback I have gotten from this is amazing. I get people thanking me for my kind words. This shouldn't be something rare. We need to continue building each other up and supporting others. So that is my challenge to you. Start saying kind things to people in your life. Let them know you see their hard work and support them!
Be Strong!
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