Baby Weight
It's no surprise that the whole pregnancy weight gain thing is a little bit of an issue for this new mama-to-be who's struggled with her weight - and an eating disorder - for years.It's taken so long to find a place where I can manage to like myself (no love yet, but I hope that I'll get there someday). And I fully accept that I need to eat and gain weight to have a healthy baby - which absolutely overrides everything else for me. I'm doing everything I should be. But if I'm being completely honest, I'm finding it tough some days. Most days.
The ironic thing is that I'm not even gaining weight yet. But I'm watching my body change, and it's all so totally beyond my control... I wonder (secretly) sometimes if it's compounded by the fact that I didn't plan and dream about this pregnancy for months ahead of time.
A healthy baby is more important to me than anything. And I'm so excited to be pregnant, and to be a mom. As much as I feel uncomfortable about gaining weight, I've made my peace with it. But that's a decision I need to make again every single day when I wake up and get dressed and look in the mirror. I hear that - once I start to look less fat and more pregnant - I'll feel better about it. I guess we'll know if that's true soon...
It helps to make sure that I have a cute haircut, that I took the time to put some make-up on, that my nails are done, that I put some effort into my outfit, and that my legs are shaved. At least if I'm lumpy, I'm still feminine :)
How 'bout the rest of you? How did you feel about your changing pregnant bodies? Was it something you embraced without hesitation, or something that was sometimes difficult?
Labels: Baby Talk
posted by Lindsay @ 9:04 PM
7 Comments:
i TOTALLY understand how you feel! it is true though, once you get that distinct belly bump, it makes a huge difference on how you look at yourself. for me personally, once I could see the outline of my tummy I felt amazing! I loved every second of my pregnancy, and I can't wait to do it again! hang in there!
Right there with ya on those feelings. Struggled with my weight my whole life and planned and dreamed about the pregnancy and still felt those same things.
Two things helped: actually LOOKING pregnant (which I only felt at about 5 months) and the baby moving around (which thankfully happened before I started looking pregnant).
Movement, as odd as it sounds, made it all seem more real and my changing shape had a tangible purpose.
The first few months is hard, but once your baby becomes a beautiful round bump and especially once you can see and feel the baby moving, your body becomes a thing of fascination and beauty! I felt empty after I'd given birth and I longed to feel that roundness under my hands and those little movements inside : ) Ah, almost makes me wish I was pregnant again...almost.
I am SO HAPPY to hear that this is very, very normal. It's another one of those things that everyone experiences but no one really talks about - how sad.
I hesitated to say something, because I don't want people to think that I'm not happy about being pregnant just because I'm not happy about my body changing like this. But I'm so glad that I did. And now I'm eagerly awaiting my pregnant belly... Planning some *serious* maternity shopping in Vancouver & Seattle at the beginning of June - woohoo!
Um, it sucks. I remember last summer being surrounded by two preggo friends who were going on and on about how fabulous I was looking (I was probably at my skinniest since high school). I jokingly said to them, "You know, I should absolutely love my body right now because this may be as good as it gets." Cuz right or wrong, it's never the same post-baby even if the scale says so.
Too bad I didn't take my own thoughts to heart...
I'm just tired of hearing how "skinny" I look even pregnant. Sorry peeps, I'm 6 feet tall - I'm able to put a LOT of weight in a LOT of places so it doesn't seem as bad as the scale says. Doesn't make it any easier...
just wanted to add my 2 cents that i felt the same way, too, with BOTH my pregnancies. put on almost 60 pounds with isabel (yikes!!) and about 40 with sophia. the first few months are the worst (for body image, fatigue, nausea, sex, etc.!) but it does get better. i'm lucky, though, in that i have a husband who thinks pregnant women are super sexy! :)
Hey, gotta get in on this one. I was pretty skinny in those pregnant days but even then, it took me aback when my 4 year old daughter commented to me, "Mommy, I thought when you're pregnant you get a big tummy, not a big bum"! Oh well, that daughter has now gone through 3 pregnancies of her own. I also was pretty fortunate that my hubby kept saying that if you're going to be pregnant you may as well get big. Pearl
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