Embracing the Bump

Get comfortable because this post isn't full of pretty pictures of my dog, or delicious food. I'm going to get real for a minute. I may sound selfish, or foolish, but I want to share these crazy feelings I'm having because I'm sure many pregnant women feel the same way.

November 1, 2013, the first day my stomach got in the way on the hamstring curl machine. HAHAHA. It seems silly, I know, but this was a big day for me. I'm 18 weeks so naturally I have a small bump now. My friends laugh at me and tell me I'm ridiculous; they say it’s adorable and I look great; to me it looks like I have a giant basketball in my stomach.

However, I am proud to say I am embracing this little bump more than I thought I would. Now, I'm not going to completely down play it. I definitely had a melt down about a week ago. I had just gotten out of the shower and was standing in front of the mirror and just started to cry. It sounds vein and selfish; but, I've spent my entire life working on keeping a toned, healthy figure. It's hard to see my body changing. I jumped in the bed quickly, trying to hide my tears from Josh. He usually gets aggravated when I complain about my body; he says I must see a completely different image in the mirror than what he sees, and that is probably true. But instead of getting annoyed,  he just came over,  kissed me, and very sweetly, told me to get use to it because it was going to get bigger; but, the end result is going to be something pretty amazing! It was the best thing he could have said. I didn't want him to coddle me and tell me that I still looked the same, because that's just not true. But he helped me realize that's OK.

 
 I have feared this stage in my pregnancy since day one. I had this image in my head of myself going from a size 4 to a size 16, with a big, round, puffy face, waddling around like a penguin. So, when my mom asked if she could take me maternity shopping last weekend, I had very mixed feelings. I was looking forward to buying pants that gave me room to breathe, and shirts that's actually fit around my ever- growing bust; but, I was NOT looking forward to admitting that I don't comfortably fit into all of my normal clothes.

 
Quickly, I learned that maternity clothes are AWESOME and now I can't wait to get a little bigger so I can wear them! I also learned that having a baby belly doesn't mean you have to wear a size 16 pants- HAHAHA. I was very happy to learn that you buy the same size clothes; they are just made to fit the new shape of your body.

 So for all you expecting mom's out there, I now have a small amount of shopping experience that may help in your search for maternity clothes.  Motherhood Maternity recently got a new brand in their store called Bumpstart. The great part about the Bumpstart brand is most of their stuff comes in packs of 2 and is priced between $20-$25. I got a bunch of tank tops, t-shirts, and leggings in a variety of colors for a great price!! They also have a lot of cute spring/summer shirts on clearance right now. I went ahead a stocked up on some cute tunic type shirts they had being that it will be spring during the end of my pregnancy.

 I got my pregnancy pants from Old Navy. Old Navy jeans have always fit me really well. I am a mere 5'1" and their pants fit my short body. Old Navy didn't have a large maternity section, but they have a lot of really cute stuff online. And  I LOVE the way the pants fit me! We also went to Target to stock up on some long sleeve shirts. They have a great variety of colors and their maternity long sleeve shirts are SO soft. I also bought some adorable open front winter sweaters. I have a feeling this winter is going to be leggings with big sweaters! Target has a TON of great open- front sweaters. Since it doesn’t need to be buttoned or zipped, it doesn’t have to be a maternity sweater.

 Over the past 4 months, people have constantly asked me, "Are you excited"? Of course, my answer is,” yes”, and trust me, I have been. But, it hasn't really felt "real", you know? I've had very few pregnancy symptoms, I haven't felt the baby move yet, and up until the of last couple weeks, I haven't looked pregnant. But now, as this little bump gets bigger, I am starting to get more and more excited. It is finally starting to feel real. So, I am going to embrace this little bump as it grows because I know inside is something very real and very special!  I will outgrow clothes, and I'm sure I will have to start altering my workouts, but, that's OK because I know in a few short months, I will be a “workout mom”!  I will soon be back into my regular workouts, wearing my regular clothes, with my beautiful child in tow!!

 

Hope you had a wonderful weekend! Here's to embracing the changes!!!!