During pregnancy, your boobs, belly, and other areas are getting bigger. Your changing body is there for all to see. I’ve heard people talking about how so-and-sos hips widened. Yes, it’s true her hips were widening, and there’s nothing wrong with widening hips. It’s an occurrence most pregnant women experience. Yet, there are people talking about her hips! Our physical changes are out there for people to see.
Your changing body
None of us can be sure about how our body will change and look during our pregnancies. In fact, during a second or third pregnancy, our bodies might not change in the same ways that they did previously. This can be daunting – not knowing what’s coming.
It can be useful to proactively consider how we’re going to deal with our constantly changing and somewhat unpredictable bodies. What mindsets do you think will work for you? What do you want to focus on? How can you enjoy your body changes to the best of your ability?
How LuAnn shifted her perspective about her changing body
Let’s hear from LuAnn who started to dislike her changing body and then intentionally shifted her approach to a better-feeling, more-empowering one.
As LuAnn moved into her second trimester, her body changed quickly and she suddenly felt sloppy and fat. To her it seemed that she was just a series of fat rolls from her boobs to her thighs. She’d never been a thin girl. She’d always been more curvy and voluptuous, but this was just too much in LuAnn’s eyes. How was she going to feel good about herself and how she looked when she looked like this?!
For a while LuAnn felt really insecure about her appearance. Then two things happened. One, LuAnn got to thinking, “What if I have a daughter inside my belly? What am I teaching her, if I am judging my self-worth based on how I look?” And, two, she had a friend tell her she was so lucky because her ankles weren’t swelling at all. This inspired a new approach for LuAnn. She had been so busy lamenting about how her abdomen looked that she completely neglected to realize how great her legs looked. She got an improved wardrobe plan: She was going to accentuate her legs!
The next day LuAnn went shopping and purchased more skirts and dresses with interesting hemlines that would bring attention down to her legs. And, she used this as an excuse to buy some new rockin’ shoes. And, it worked! Throughout the rest of her pregnancy she got compliments about her great shoes and her skinny ankles. She heard, “I can’t believe you’re wearing those high heels! You’re amazing. You look amazing!”
LuAnn loved the idea that she had found a way to focus on what was working for her physically, rather than obsessing about what she didn’t enjoy. She believed she was already setting a good example for her daughter (she did have a girl!), demonstrating how to not obsess about a self-proclaimed body flaw, yet instead to acknowledge and leverage positives and strengths.
What about your changing body?
What is working for you, physically? How can you focus on or accentuate what you enjoy about your pregnant body? What mindsets and approaches will enable you to embrace your body changes to the best of your ability?