Feeling the Weight

I must confess that in the last week or so I have been really feeling the effects of growth. Belly growth, that is. And I am loving it – I mean, I am loving my growing belly, knowing there is a growing baby inside. But I suffer from just enough vanity to make those shifts from normal pants to larger and still larger pants a bit worrisome.

I know, I know. Get over it, right? No one wants to hear about somebody else's self-absorbed vanity complexes. But despite the fact that I tell myself I don't care what other people think, weight is still a sensitive topic. I've never kept a scale in my house for that very reason.

Now I realize, yes, that as a pregnant woman, I am expected to gain weight – I NEED to gain weight! I WANT to gain weight, to support my baby's development. My “fears,” if you will, regard the “after-birth” weight.

My GOAL is to be a woman at peace with her changing body, able to calmly adjust to its changed status after birth and able to moderate her habits so as to bring her body back into balance and good health. But I know I “haven't seen anything yet,” and I'm already nervous about it!

I'm fully prepared to gain the weight needed to prepare my baby for life outside my body, and I intend to eat healthfully to support his/her health after birth, too. It's all just vanity, I guess. I've read that pregnancy changes a woman's body permanently, and I want to be at peace with it when it does! I guess I better start being mentally proactive about it now, so it doesn't come as an depression-inducing shock after-the-fact. My hope is that by practicing good nutrition and physical activity now, the habits will be set in place for working through the changes I know are to come.

I would love to know what other moms have learned about practicing good health prior to birth, in an effort to help the post-birth changes. Thanks for sharing your experiences!