The Challenge: Buy New Jeans
When I look back at family photos of myself as a child, there seems to be someone always missing from the scene: my mother. Now that I’m a mother, when someone asks me for a photo of Weston and me, it’s hard to find one. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands and I sought out someone to take some professional-style photographs of us together. I booked Molly Leon Photography, and as soon as I decided on a date, my mind naturally went to the dreaded place: what am I going to wear? I took this photoshoot as an opportunity to complete Rookie Mom challenge #35: Buy New Jeans!
Of course, I procrastinated, and kept telling myself that new jeans were too expensive, or I had black pants to wear. However, I wanted these photos to reflect who I really am, and I’m really a mom who wears blue jeans any chance I get.
See, Heather and Whitney are smart, and they set up this challenge for a reason. After you deliver a baby, your body just isn’t the same, and it can take a while for you to feel any semblance of normalcy within your skin…
I’m still in that mid-way place. I look put-together and in-shape, but I feel odd at times. My pants are either too big, or way too small. The jeans I do have are still just a tad too tight and give me a lovely muffin top.
Must Hide the Muffin Top!
The day before the photos were to be taken, I ventured into The Loft and decided I wasn’t going to buy new jeans at all, but instead I was going to buy some shirts which would cover the muffin top caused by my old jeans. Needless to say, as you can imagine, this only got me frustrated. Loft was having a 40% off everything sale that day, so when I picked up a $60 pair of jeans that I thought were cute, I decided to bite the bullet and try them on. And, interestingly enough, I picked up the size I thought I was, but when I tried them on, they were too big! I tried them in the smaller size, and Hallelujah, I loved them! But, the real test was when I texted my sister a photo from the dressing room, and she responded with “love the jeans A LOT.” Score one for mama!
Jump In Front of the Camera
I wore the jeans during the photoshoot and felt so comfortable and so much like myself! I didn’t even have much time to plan out an outfit, but because I had the jeans to rely on, I paired them with a simple button-down top, and went barefoot. I want Weston to look back on these photos and see how I wasn’t worried about a muffin top, or my shirt looking funny, or my jeans not fitting right, but that I was overjoyed to be laughing with him, and how much love I have in my eyes. Sometimes, all you need is a new pair of jeans to make you feel like yourself again, stop being so self critical, and jump in front of the camera, instead of skulking behind.
[Photo Credit: B&W photo by Molly Leon Photography (except for the selfie), all rights reserved by Olivia Howell, Molly Leon, and Rookie Moms]
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