After the girls' bath, we hold them up so they can stand on the counter and look at their chubby, naked selves in the mirror. They squeal with delight. They giggle. They pat their tummies and marvel at their belly buttons. Once in a while, they even kiss themselves in the mirror.
It reminds me of when I was pregnant. Like most adults, especially women, I always looked in the mirror with a critical eye. Too much fat here, not enough muscle there...what's with that weird vein? It changed so drastically when I was pregnant. The only thing I could look at was that beautiful belly as it got a tiny bit bigger each day. For the first time in my life, I walked proudly on the deck of the swimming pool. Worrying about saddle bags or muffin top were a thing of the past. People would take one look at me and know I was pregnant. They'd either think, "Good for her." or "I'm glad it's not me!" I was glad it was me instead of anyone else, too. Harmony.
Don't dismiss me as a glitter-loving-rainbow-chaser, being pregnant was not 37 1/2 weeks of bliss. It was physically painful and exhausting almost every day. The expanding skin on my belly would simultaneously hurt and itch so severely, I would sit and rub ice packs over it for some relief.
I slept with 7 pillows and still felt like I was deforming someone's head in the process. In fact, Barry slept in the basement after my belly and the pillows edged him out. My point is that despite all this, I was amazed at my body. People grew in there. That's awesome.
I no longer felt like I was constantly trying to get this body of mine to conform to my idea of perfection. The girls taught me to love my body for what it is and what it can do. Stretch marks are just a reminder of what God and my body did for me. There is nothing negative about that. Being pregnant also taught me to take the best care of my body possible because living in pain and being exhausted all the time is not really living. I now care far less about how I look and far more about how I feel. If I feel good, then I'm happy with my body. When I don't feel good, I know I have to give my body what it deserves, whether it's more sleep, more exercise, or better food choices.
The next time you are getting in the shower and see yourself in the mirror, try giggling or patting your tummy. Marvel at your eyes or nose. Find your belly button and just beep it. It's the complete opposite of what most of us say to ourselves in the mirror. You are still here and that means your body has been good to you. Just be careful that you don't get so excited, you pee on the counter.
That happens, too.
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Check out some photos from Julia & Emily's first Christmas here.
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