Our Five Ring Circus: Learning To Love My (Four Times) Postpartum Body: Featuring PinkBlush

Monday, January 30, 2017

Learning To Love My (Four Times) Postpartum Body: Featuring PinkBlush

DISCLOSURE: I received this dress in exchange for my review. All opinions are 100% my own.

It happened so often. I would walk past a mirror, catch a glimpse of myself and cringe. My body just looked so much different than it did before I had kids. Four of them, to be exact.

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As a mom of two daughters in their formative years, I had to do my best to hide my disdain. I don't want them to catch on to any negative feelings I may have about the way I look. Even though I may not always love the way I look, I want them to love themselves just the way they are. It seems like a contradiction, but I work hard to suppress any bad thoughts I have about my body.

The root of my negativity was my teenage years. I truly believe it stemmed from having skinny older sisters who were always so critical about the way they looked. I always felt like I wasn't thin enough, so I set out on a path of not eating enough and exercising excessively.  That constant strive for perfection became a bad habit that was nearly impossible to break.

Now that I'm older and wiser, I have to laugh at the high standard that I set for myself.  When I was 5 months pregnant with Dylan, I was 5'6" and I weighed 105 lbs. Even though that weight was caused by Hyperemesis, AKA constant morning sickness, it became my goal weight. Looking back, only one thought comes to my mind: "WHAT was I thinking?!?"


Having children made me feel more positive about my body. For once, I had much more important things to worry about. Instead of a constant need to be really skinny, I just focused on eating healthy and getting the proper amount of exercise, and I loved the way I looked and felt.

My plan worked for so long, but the combination of being pregnant four times and not having as much time to exercise after having a 4th child caught up with me. Over the past year, I started to notice jiggly spots that never existed before, and the negative feelings started to creep back in.  I KNOW it's just a matter of making it a point to exercise more, but these days, I barely get an hour of alone time each day, and that's when I work.

As the days lengthen and the weather warms up, I will be able to spend more time outdoors running, but I needed a short term solution. I started to focus on finding forgiving styles that hid the spots that gave me grief, and along the way, I rediscovered my love for fashion, and I started to feel more confident about the way I look!

Learning To Love My (Four Times) Postpartum Body_ Featuring PinkBlush

A trendy online boutique that EVERY mom needs to know about is PinkBlush! At first, I thought PinkBlush just sold maternity clothes, but I was thrilled to discover that they offered a wide variety of non-maternity clothing, too. The best thing about PinkBlush is that the styles are very flattering and many of the styles can easily transition from pregnancy into motherhood!

I'm typically a jeans or leggings with a cute shirt kind of girl, and I found myself adding every other top to my wish list. They have an impressive variety of tops that are currently in style. But every mom deserves to feel pretty now and then. The dresses at PinkBlush immediately caught my eye. They are simply beautiful!

Pink Blush

I opted for the Royal Chiffon Colorblock Maxi Dress. It seemed like a very versatile style that could easily work for all seasons!

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I was not disappointed. The first thing I noticed when the dress arrived was the quality. The dress was surprisingly heavy and the color of the chiffon was stunning. When I put on the dress, I was pleased to find that it had a very flattering fit. It's definitely one of those styles that works for every stage of motherhood!

PinkBlush

In addition to maternity clothing and women's clothing, PinkBlush also offers active wear, sleepwear, robes, jewelry, shoes, hats, scarves, socks, sunglasses, bags, delivery robes, clothing for nursing, swimwear, and items for babies! I'm not going to lie...I have a ton of items on my Love List! Visit them HERE. You won't be disappointed!

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You can also find PinkBlush on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.

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GIVEAWAY

Visit me on Instagram to enter to win a $50 PinkBlush gift card!

 

Thank you to PinkBlush for making me feel more confident in my after four kids body! I definitely feel my best when I'm wearing something pretty AND surrounded by the loves of my life! 

This is me. 12 years later, 25 pounds heavier, and incredibly blessed.
 
PinkBlush


11 comments:

  1. Oh Stefanie, you are so beautiful--inside and out! I LOVE your last photo. Being a mom (especially 4X) brings "beauty" to the soul. I battle with weight issues and the fact that I'm 41! But, in the end, I know my true worth comes from being a good mother, wife, and person. You are PERFECT just the way you are :)

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  2. Yes to everything you said body-wise! The baby weight fell of me after 1 and 2, but it's not doing a darn thing after number 3. I really struggled with how I felt about myself over the weekend but then I remember I got a beautiful, healthy baby out of the ordeal and he is so worth every extra pound! Still, it's tough when you don't even remotely fit into things you bought just one year ago. Such a roller coaster of emotions and feelings! I think you look great and a stranger would never guess you've carried FOUR babies! That dress is beautiful!

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  3. I know the exact feelings you described! Recently I've been really hard on myself and not loving the way I look. I know I could lose a little weight but I also wish I was just happy with myself!

    You look amazing in that dress, the color is so pretty on you! I didn't know Pink Blush sold non maternity clothes!

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  4. That dress is just gorgeous on you, Stefanie! The color is just perfect.

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  5. You look amazing! 4 times the amazing, really! Loving yourself is hard but think of what your body has done. You carried and birthed 4 babies. That's impressive and maybe, just maybe, worth a little bit of change in your body.

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  6. This is GORGEOUS! You are gorgeous. I have always wanted to work with Pink Blush. So fun that you got the chance to!

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  7. I would love this dress, the color is so vibrant I'm a royal blue fan! You look gorgeous!!!

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  8. I was nodding my head through this whole post.
    And, you look dashing! That dress is simply stunning.

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  9. I'm swooning over all the maternity clothes! That's what I would get!!

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