Karina LeBlanc is expecting her first child and says she has already learned her first lesson about motherhood.
The soccer star, who hails from Maple Ridge, announced online on Sunday from the Bahamas that she is expecting a baby girl late March.
Along with the announcement she posted a series maternity photos of herself and her husband along a beach.
But, she said in a Facebook post, that at first she was not going to post the photos. Instead, LeBlanc was going to send them back to the photographer to have them airbrushed.
She explained that she went from a fit Olympic athlete to somebody who was not “playing and training” like she used to and, she said, her body, “didn’t accept the changes” the way she wanted it to.
However, LeBlanc asked herself, what message would she be sending to her baby girl about owning herself and all her imperfections if she didn’t post the photos the way they were.
LeBlanc, who won an Olympic bronze medal with the Canadian National Women’s Soccer Team in 2012 and who was named to the 2015 national team for the World Cup that same year, posted the photos without the editing with a positive message instead.
READ MORE: Soccer star in Maple Ridge with Olympic medal
“Own who you are, love who you are, accept who you are, today, and everyday,” wrote LeBlanc.
She said she expects to learn a lot about herself as a mother.
READ MORE: LeBlanc named to World Cup team
In her transition from being a world class athlete to retired athlete she noted that many things have changed in her life and she has learned to deal with them all.
This is the first time, she said, that she has had to deal with her body image.
“Today this is me dealing with this and I’m sharing that with you rather than sending it back to be edited,” said the star.
“To being the best version of myself for me, for her, and for my hubby,” said LeBlanc, indicating her unborn baby.
“I want to be the mother that helps her find her own strength to be the person she was put on this earth to be through my actions,” she finished.
cflanagan@mapleridgenews.com
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