5 Reasons You Should Get in that Picture, Mama!

It was the perfect day.  A sunny, 75 degree, Florida day & I decided to take my daughter down to the beach.

Has anyone ever told you running down to the beach (or going anywhere for that matter) isn’t quite as easy with a baby in tow as it was in those pre-baby days?

I know I was a sight – baby in one arm, beach gear in the other. I struggled down the walkway, dropped our umbrella, her hat flew off one time, almost tripped over our blanket…lookin’ like mom of the year, I tell ya!

Once we were all set up, I decided that this beach day was meant for letting her little feet touch the ocean water and dig her toes in the sand for the first time.

While down at the water a sweet lady came down and asked if I wanted some pictures with my little girl, I said sure, and let me tell you, photos she took! I wasn’t even ready for a picture, but she was steady snapping away. I told her thank you, and shortly after, Summer & I headed back home.

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Once we were home, Summer went down for a nap and I decided to look at the pictures from earlier. As I looked at the full body shots of Summer and I without my cover on, I have to be totally honest, I cringed. I wanted to tear my body apart, piece by piece, letting it know every area it fell short. I am still carrying around an extra 20 pounds that I gained during pregnancy. If I were to be led by feelings of insecurity that have tried to grip me in recent months, I would never have pictures of my daughter and I.

Which leads me to the reason for this post…

Mamas, you need to be in that picture, too!

I know, I know, your little is so cute…but I know the way your children are looking at you.

My guess is they are giving you that same cheeky little smile that Summer shoots my way.

& that is why I decided to come up with some reasons why us moms need to be in the pictures, too.

1. You will remember these moments, but chances are, your little one will not. Take pictures, but more importantly, get in the pictures. Your future self and children will thank you!

2. Your children are watching. Lead by example by living in the moment. Capture yourself with your kids having fun.  Let’s not get clouded by self-critiques and insecurities of our bodies. Life is so much more than insecurities.  Our children are reason enough to fight off the feelings that try to bring us down. Show them that living in the moment, loving life and loving yourself is more important than being self critical.

3. It’s okay not being content with where your body is currently, but don’t hate yourself, love yourself enough to work towards your goals & take pictures with your littles in the meantime. It is great to have goals, I have several, one of them being to lose the extra pounds pregnancy brought on. I know that I will lose the extra weight, but life isn’t on pause while I wait for that day.

4. You are the only one seeing what you are seeing. We notice things about ourselves that others will never notice. Give yourself some love & grace, you just gave birth to a miracle.

5. Your babies think you are the most wonderful thing that has happened to them. We have to capture the way they look at us. Why? Because you matter. You know the way you look at your little one? All googly eyed? They look at you the same way. You are worthy of being documented. They don’t view us through a lens of insecurity, they look at us through a lens of love.

Take too many photos, for when the moment is gone, the memories and photos will remain.