I honestly feel bad about being in a generation that curates stunning Instagram feeds, edits photos with different filters and plans social media posts. Don’t get me wrong, I’m guilty of all of the above! Hello fellow millennials! 🙂

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to have awesome pictures with cool captions to share to the world. At some point, prettifying our social media page actually makes us happy and inspired.  It even becomes a way to express our creative juices and raging emotions.  The funny thing is that the exact things that we think make us happy are also the things that can cause us self-pity, anxiety, pressure, ingratitude, and even misery.

If we’re not careful, we have the tendency to compare ourselves to whoever we see on social media, and we end up feeling like a complete loser.

When I see seemingly perfect, hot mommas rocking motherhood like a pro, I must admit I tend to be ashamed of my reality.  So I screen and edit my photos and captions, curate them or just hide them “for my eyes only”.  Worse, I screen what I say during real-life conversations to spare myself from feeling like a second-rate, trying hard, copy cat mom! OK, OA…

… but the truth is, the things we screen, filter out, and try to hide are the things that are genuinely beautiful.  They are beautiful not because they are visually pleasing, but because they are the sincere and spontaneous moments that paint the sublime picture of motherhood.

The moment when my innocent flabs peep out of my blouse during a family pictorial…

The moment I sigh out of frustration because our home looks like a junk shop…

The moment my toddler won’t look at the camera for a decent photo…

The moment I stopped breastfeeding because life told me so…

The moment I’m OK with my mom bod and virgin kilay but others think otherwise…

The moment my little girl thinks I’m a villain just because I have to change her diaper…

The moment when my toddler won’t eat solids and the whole world will give me that “she should be eating solids by now” look…

The moment when I panic because my child won’t stop crying and I don’t know why…

The moment when my little girl just hugs me tight, and everything else falls into place…

Each moment, whether fab or not, brings out the best in each mom.

Each moment, whether grand or not, becomes a precious memory that children will forever cherish in their hearts.

I’m grateful to Johnson’s and Millennial Moms PH for reminding parents like me to embrace the natural beauty of unfiltered motherhood.  #NaturallyBeautifulMOMents are certainly priceless!

JOHNSON’s through its Milk products (Bath, Lotion, Powder, Soap), encourages moms to embrace and be proud of the #NaturallyBeautifulMOMents with baby.  This advocacy encourages moms to embrace the natural and authentic. Many moms have joined the campaign by posting their photo with their child in their happiest moment while showing off natural baby-beautiful skin. Check the hashtag #NaturallyBeautifulMOMents on Instagram.

Let’s appreciate the natural beauty of motherhood! Ditch the filters, mommies! 🙂

#NaturallyBeautifulMOMents #MillennialMomsPhxJohnsonsPH #Johnsonsbabyph