Who knows what "normal" is...
So think of this as baby bump blog post #2...
I love all of the varying reactions to my baby bump! Most people want to touch it (which really doesn't bother me) and after they lay their hands on my belly, I almost always get the following three questions:
What I find interesting is more the reaction to the size of my baby bump in relation to my due date than anything. The vast majority of people keep going like it's no big deal, but every once in a while I get a, "Wow, that's going to be a BIG baby!" or a "Are you sure there isn't a second baby hiding in there?" As a pregnant woman, I just laugh, because I know that she is a normal size and that there are no twins, but after I experience a reaction that has to happen with just about every woman who is navigating the waters of her ever changing body. Basically, I am always left thinking, "Wow, they think I'm fat!"
Pre-baby I wasn't a size 2 - and was just whittling back into a 10 at the time I found out I was pregnant - so it's reasonable to expect that I'm not going to be one of those ladies who is tiny save for her neat little baby bump. But given that the average woman is more likely closer to me in pre-pregnancy body than Heidi Klum, I am left wondering...what is "normal" for a pregnancy body?
I am generally a health conscious person and pre-pregnancy I spent an average of 2 hours per day, 6 days per week in the gym between weight training and cardio. And those of you who know me well know that I actually started this blog to chronical my body building journey, only to (almost immediately) change it to a baby blog after finding out we were pregnant. All of this to say that I am generally not a sedentary person and that, despite the disciplined regimen in the gym, I was still not small in build to start with (hey...no short jokes...I mean small around, not vertically!). As a result, I have had my fair share of struggles with accepting my changing body. As my belly feels less like mush and more like there is a baby in it, I feel more pride in my pregnancy. It also helps that I can feel the baby moving, and feel a sense of wonder about it all. But I am still left wondering what standard I am supposed to be comparing myself to? Especially in light of the above-mentioned information.
I'm not asking literally. I look around and I see pregnant women everywhere. And their bodies vary greatly. I am still dumbfounded by those who have a 2 week old (or even a 2 month old, for that matter) and look like they never were pregnant. I have accepted that as genetics - which I don't share, by the way. Since there is such a variation in how women carry, when they show, when they start to swell (oh, the journey of me and my swelling feet!!) and even how much weight they put on, why is it that all of the models on maternity sites look like stick skinny models who have a vecro baby bump like the one found in the Motherhood dressing room? Why is it that the dresses all have too much room in the belly and not enough in the rear? I know I can't be the only one who has a pregnant butt, too? Honestly, I say that, but I am in the same maternity skirts and pants I wore at 2 months pregnant now at almost 6 months pregnant. I have put on some in the thighs and rear, but most of my weight IS in my belly.
I understand that the health of my baby is paramount, and that putting on too much weight, eating too much junk & sodium, and being totally sedentary can have a negative effect on the baby and her development. I also understand that these factors influence whether I may or may not go full term, be put on bed rest, may develop preeclampsia, and so on. But if I, at 6 months pregnant, am a pregnant looking version of my normal self, and have good blood pressure, have all clear on my blood and urine panels, am showing all the signs of a perfectly healthy baby, and am showing signs of normal pregancy (Honey - I know my swollen feet freak you out, but it IS normal for pregnant women to have them...lol)......WHY is everyone so obsessed with the size of my baby bump? And why do some people seem to think it's out of control??
The final conclusion I have come to is, like normal life outside of pregnancy, there is no "normal" - there are outlyers - those who are too small or too large, but normal encapsulates a wide varying continuum. And I fall within that continuum. And though I don't eat perfect all the time and I don't get to exercise as much as I would like to, I AM carrying a human life within me, and I AM nurturing her, which is my job as her pregnant mother. As a result, I WILL embrace my baby body, and celebrate the gift of life. It is a blessing and I am grateful for it.
And now...a little gallery of my current baby bump...
I love all of the varying reactions to my baby bump! Most people want to touch it (which really doesn't bother me) and after they lay their hands on my belly, I almost always get the following three questions:
- When are you due?
- Do you know the sex?
- Have you picked out a name?
What I find interesting is more the reaction to the size of my baby bump in relation to my due date than anything. The vast majority of people keep going like it's no big deal, but every once in a while I get a, "Wow, that's going to be a BIG baby!" or a "Are you sure there isn't a second baby hiding in there?" As a pregnant woman, I just laugh, because I know that she is a normal size and that there are no twins, but after I experience a reaction that has to happen with just about every woman who is navigating the waters of her ever changing body. Basically, I am always left thinking, "Wow, they think I'm fat!"
Pre-baby I wasn't a size 2 - and was just whittling back into a 10 at the time I found out I was pregnant - so it's reasonable to expect that I'm not going to be one of those ladies who is tiny save for her neat little baby bump. But given that the average woman is more likely closer to me in pre-pregnancy body than Heidi Klum, I am left wondering...what is "normal" for a pregnancy body?
I am generally a health conscious person and pre-pregnancy I spent an average of 2 hours per day, 6 days per week in the gym between weight training and cardio. And those of you who know me well know that I actually started this blog to chronical my body building journey, only to (almost immediately) change it to a baby blog after finding out we were pregnant. All of this to say that I am generally not a sedentary person and that, despite the disciplined regimen in the gym, I was still not small in build to start with (hey...no short jokes...I mean small around, not vertically!). As a result, I have had my fair share of struggles with accepting my changing body. As my belly feels less like mush and more like there is a baby in it, I feel more pride in my pregnancy. It also helps that I can feel the baby moving, and feel a sense of wonder about it all. But I am still left wondering what standard I am supposed to be comparing myself to? Especially in light of the above-mentioned information.
I'm not asking literally. I look around and I see pregnant women everywhere. And their bodies vary greatly. I am still dumbfounded by those who have a 2 week old (or even a 2 month old, for that matter) and look like they never were pregnant. I have accepted that as genetics - which I don't share, by the way. Since there is such a variation in how women carry, when they show, when they start to swell (oh, the journey of me and my swelling feet!!) and even how much weight they put on, why is it that all of the models on maternity sites look like stick skinny models who have a vecro baby bump like the one found in the Motherhood dressing room? Why is it that the dresses all have too much room in the belly and not enough in the rear? I know I can't be the only one who has a pregnant butt, too? Honestly, I say that, but I am in the same maternity skirts and pants I wore at 2 months pregnant now at almost 6 months pregnant. I have put on some in the thighs and rear, but most of my weight IS in my belly.
I understand that the health of my baby is paramount, and that putting on too much weight, eating too much junk & sodium, and being totally sedentary can have a negative effect on the baby and her development. I also understand that these factors influence whether I may or may not go full term, be put on bed rest, may develop preeclampsia, and so on. But if I, at 6 months pregnant, am a pregnant looking version of my normal self, and have good blood pressure, have all clear on my blood and urine panels, am showing all the signs of a perfectly healthy baby, and am showing signs of normal pregancy (Honey - I know my swollen feet freak you out, but it IS normal for pregnant women to have them...lol)......WHY is everyone so obsessed with the size of my baby bump? And why do some people seem to think it's out of control??
The final conclusion I have come to is, like normal life outside of pregnancy, there is no "normal" - there are outlyers - those who are too small or too large, but normal encapsulates a wide varying continuum. And I fall within that continuum. And though I don't eat perfect all the time and I don't get to exercise as much as I would like to, I AM carrying a human life within me, and I AM nurturing her, which is my job as her pregnant mother. As a result, I WILL embrace my baby body, and celebrate the gift of life. It is a blessing and I am grateful for it.
And now...a little gallery of my current baby bump...
JP & I at the Out of the Darkness on 10/17/2010
Me at a conference on 10/22/2010
Me as "Snooki" from Jersey Shore for Halloween (orange G-T-L face & all!) - with my own baby twist, of course!
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Stay tuned...more to come soon...
Yo go girl...eat what ya want & grow my niece! Don't worry about the size of the bump as long as your BOTH HEALTHY!!! Can't wait to see you ALL soon :0)
ReplyDeleteLove you ALL!
Love,
Kimmie
Julie-
ReplyDeleteYou are the size that you need to be and you look damn cute, so don't let other people's messed up judgements get to you!!!
Katie