I have been noticing this trend in social media culture recently:  "Realness" tends to be connected to hardships, being honest about the crappy things that happen.. and people rave about it in the comments. "Thank you for being so real and vulnerable!" 

I get it, we all want to relate to others who face the same issues that we do.. but I wonder, are we creating a culture that is quick to talk about hardships and hesitant to share the positive, happy moments? 

I'm currently 9 weeks postpartum, and just had a falling out with a friend who thinks that I'm "self glorifying". We really haven't been close friends so I wonder if she's getting that impression by the way I portray myself on social media... You see, throughout my pregnancy and postpartum recovery, I've shared how great I feel. But I feel like there's this voice in my head telling me not to do that, because it will make all the pregnant women who don't feel so great hate me.

Well, here's my "realness". That's just too bad! You are allowed to be happy for yourself! You are allowed to share your wins without connecting them to your darkest moments (i.e. had a great sleep last night after a week of sleep regression *praise god emoji*). I worry that the pendulum is swinging so far in the other direction that we are now ONLY connecting "realness" to unhappiness and adversity. Realness can include feeling great, complimenting yourself or being happy, just for the sake of it.  

Also, part of that positivity is coming from the dedication I have to my nutrition/health and fitness. As a prenatal and postpartum fitness and health coach, I want to show other mamas that it is possible to have a pain free pregnancy, an unmedicated birth, and a great postpartum recovery. There are for sure lots of things that are out of our hands when it comes to pregnancy, but we can work with optimal nutrition and fitness practices to feel our best throughout the whole perinatal period! 

In conclusion, I'll say, I do appreciate that we celebrate the sharing of hardships and make each other feel less alone during hard times, but on the flip side, don't hold back from being happy for yourself in fear of how you will come across. You are allowed to be happy for yourself! 

To read more about how I was able to feel great throughout my pregnancy, check out these other blog posts I wrote: 

Building Your Prenatal Support Team

Labour Prep 101

The Benefits of Placenta Encapsulation