My name is Jimena and I am a new mother. My baby is 18 months old now, and I cannot believe how much has changed.
Many changes have been unpredictable, but many were also expected. My little body went from unassuming to bloated, and back again. When I was pregnant, it felt impossible to remember what life was like before. Now that I’ve given birth, I can look back on the emotional turmoil, desperation and frustration I felt in a funny braggart sort of way. I would tell myself… Jimena, don’t be so hard on yourself. I doubt I would have been able to take that on board at the time, and as easy that is to say to myself now, it is true.
It’s a particularly undulating period of time, physically and emotionally. I was constantly adjusting my diet, my clothes, my mood, and my point of view. I have gone through so many changes, I feel like I am a new me now, and not necessarily in the fresh and flossed sort of way. I am harder, stronger, more exhausted, but more capable. There are trillions of cells in the human body, and over time, they are slowly replaced by newer cells. This process takes around 7 years to happen, meaning that we literally are a new person by the end of this process. I can’t help but reflect on the last year of my life and think…. I’ve surely completed that a thousand times this year alone. Women must be better at this, faster even…
So now I have a new sized body, which I am growing to love, but also since my third trimester, I have, quite painfully, been navigating how to deal with unexpected bladder leaks, which worsened after I gave birth. This is not something i’ve ever experienced before, but what can I say… my incredible body performed the miracle that is childbirth, and that is no small feat. Bladder leaks are therefore something that I live with now and was controlling using disposable pads - changing them multiple times throughout the day and night. Things like sneezing, coughing and going to the gym became anxiety triggering. I was quite frankly nervous to go out.
barepanties has allowed me to feel safe all day every day. Not just with bladder leaks - I also use them for my period. I am not a tampon person and I love that I am able to flow naturally without having to use disposable products of any kind. These panties have literally changed my life, completely eradicating my anxieties about going out. Not only have they made me feel safe, I feel damn sexy.