Jul 1, 2014

Ch-ch-changes

When I found out I was pregnant, I knew I'd be wearing a maxi skirt/dress or two during the course of the months I was showing with summertime being the most prominent season. I figured I'd pair it with a form-fitting top, some cute flats, and BAM, instant cute pregnant style. That's what I saw on Pinterest and the blogs anyways. So you can imagine my disappoint when, before heading to church on Sunday, I had Landon shoot a "What I Wore"/bump picture. I reviewed the options as he was driving us to mass and immediately felt let down.

All of a sudden I looked very pregnant.

It didn't help that we had a huge Italian meal just a few hours earlier. So this bump was both my real baby and a food baby combined. But like I said, as I was looking at my chest, belly, and butt I started to feel let down. I immediately regretted not being in better shape prior to pregnancy and not working out more throughout. I also regretted my yolo attitude towards all the junk food I had been consuming. Finally, I felt jealousy towards pregnant women who were able to afford cute new flattering clothes throughout every stage of their pregnancy. Surely if I had been able to place an order on ASOS or H&M for some trendier maternity pieces I'd be happier with how I looked, right?


I hope you can see where I'm going with this post...

After lots of reflecting, I know none of those feelings of regret or jealousy are even remotely appropriate. Yes, health is important for both myself and the baby and I should be trying just a little harder. But ultimately how my body has changed and will continue to change until the end of 2014 is out of my control because there is life growing inside of me. Letting the process continue the way it's meant to is really the only option. I would never want to risk harm on our unborn baby by drastically changing my eating and fitness routine at this point. I also know that although yes, new clothes are quite lovely, they don't make me who I really am. 

This year has included a whole lot of soul searching. I'm evolving...right there with my body type. I know that certain things that used to be the most important for me are some of the least nowadays. My goals can be boiled down to a few things: 1. Be the best wife and mother I can be and 2. Be open to whatever God throws my way. Trusting the process of my life and my pregnancy are challenging but it's all that I've got and I'm becoming more okay with that every single day. There's a reason I'm growing in places I instinctively want to not be growing in and they all have to do with this wonderful child we've been blessed with.

So here's to embracing the wonderfully wild ride of pregnancy. It's not always roses, but it sure can be with prayer, a great support system, and some extra positive thinking. 

As for clothing/personal style during this time, I'm especially loving this outlook from designer Lisa Mayock of Vena Cava...

"It's like a nine-month experiment in redefining your personal style. It's actually been really fun to figure it out."

I plan on adjusting my attitude to this from now on...to see the adventure in pregnancy.

5 comments:

  1. You look great mama! This is my 2nd pregnancy and I feel like I puffed out so fast. It's also amazing how pregnancy makes you really look at your life and realize what's important and how your mommy instincts are kicking in. Trust them :) and you can do it.

    PS Theres also Old Navy and Ross for maternity clothes!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think this is a struggle everyone deals with - you seem to be handling it very well though! I think you look GREAT. Trust me, you always feel more pregnant than you look, too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Letting go while you're caring for your baby inside yourself is SO hard because how long do we try to stay thin or be stylish up until that point. But letting go (healthily) is important because stress over food or weight or how you look isn't good.

    Kind of good to remember, too, that your body will stay changed to some extent after pregnancy so you'll have plenty of time to evolve your style :)

    ReplyDelete