Lately, everything in my life seems to revolve around being a mom—even my looks. When I post a picture, people comment things like: “Motherhood looks good on you” or “Hot mom.” And while I love the good intentions, it brings me flashbacks of the “You’re sexy for a thick girl” compliment. Which may sound flattering, but I’m not convinced it is. And it is even more peculiar to me because I feel like somehow being a mom has placed me into yet another category. Like somewhere along the last year and a half, I stopped being America and turned into America the mom.

It became more apparent when I recently asked a friend about an outfit I was planning on wearing. And she replied, “I mean you’re a mom now. So I guess if you’re going without baby it’s ok, but if not no.” It’s not like I was wearing nipple covers and a thong (which if you want to wear that, by all means do), I was wearing a low-cut romper!

That instantly triggered a WTF in me. This is the way people think. Mom equals modesty. And culturally, I get it; I am Hispanic, afterall.

But I don’t 100% agree.

And that’s not the only comment I’ve received. Jokingly friends have mocked my pursuit of modeling “at this point in my life.” Granted, it’s not all of them. Most of them have been supportive. But the subtle jokes are still there.

So here’s what I think: AFTER becoming a mom, it’s even MORE important to feel sexy and beautiful.

It’s hard being a mom.

There are so many to-dos that often we leave our self-care for last. My nails are suffering as we speak! Modern day woman wears so many hats, that it is almost impossible to keep up. We have to be the perfect wife, mom, employee, homemaker, Pinterest expert, and woman extraordinaire. And when you have to work, do laundry, change diapers, workout, cook (to name a few), and remain sane, it’s daunting.

So many of us get lost in the motherhood maze that we forget who we are.

We put our families first and ourselves last, and that’s not ok in my books. We all have equal value. We are worthy too. And if that means you want to show the world that you still feel sexy and beautiful, then so be it. Want to go out for a drink and unwind with the girls; do it too! There is no shame in that!

We cannot forget that we are multi-faceted individuals with needs and wants too.

We aren’t just mothers.

We are all so much more than we know. And every day, if we give ourselves the chance, we can discover new talents we have hidden.

We have dreams and aspirations, and we should NEVER feel too old or too busy to fit them into our lives. And that’s exactly what I intend to do. I will always try with all my might to maintain my identity while fulfilling one of the most important roles I’ve been given…because it is possible to be fabulous AND a mom.

So when someone says, ‘you’re a hot mom.’ I’ll correct them. Drop the mom. I’m just hot. Being a mom is only a part of who I am, not my sole identity. I am so many things that limiting myself to one title would be, well, limiting. And if doing certain things that are not “mom-like” make me happy, I’m going to do them. I really don’t care what anyone thinks ‼

PS: you can still call me a hot mom, I won’t really get mad…

PPS: I hope that’s not all you got from my post 😘😜

PPPS: Stay pretty, mamacitas!!