It’s the Little Things

Maintaining a positive outlook about body image during pregnancy is kind of challenging. I’d bet for women who revel in being pregnant, it’s not too bad and it’s likely that they thoroughly enjoy all the changes occurring to their physique. For someone who lost thirty pounds prior to this pregnancy only to see it slowly work it’s way right back onto my 5’2″ frame, the “bump” has not been met with quite the fanfare that perhaps others experience. But the end result will be sweet, so I’m working on just doing the best I can and am trying not to dwell on the odd changes too much. It’s only temporary…

So what’s going on? Well the obviously growing belly is bizarre. Not only does it get bigger every day, it’s housing this little gymnast, apparently. Lots of kicking, punching- god knows what the little guy is up to in there, but he’s an active little booger. Which is reassuring, but very weird. All sorts of joints and ligaments are stretching and changing, which is starting to affect my balance slightly, but is also making stretching, an activity for which I have previously had zero fondness, my favorite part of the day. And there are all sorts of other little things changing, but I’ll spare you all those details.

But for my part, I’m trying to maintain some sort of normalcy. That seems to be helping with the emotional ramifications of looking like you swallowed a cantaloupe. The belly band has been pretty good. I got a solid 2.5 mile jog in yesterday with a significantly steep uphill section. Huge win. Only had to stop to let Sam pee. I’m also working on some strength training with the help of a cheesy workout DVD specifically for those of us expecting little ones. It’s actually pretty good. Lots of squats and oddly, ab work, which is great. Aside from getting my endorphins going and drastically improving my mood, apparently working out gives us smarter babies, or at least babies with more active brains. It’s a win win! But alternating those two workouts does make me feel like I’m at least maintaining good muscle tone and cardiovascular capabilities, even if I’m gaining weight and my belly is rapidly eclipsing the view of my feet.

Which leads me to my next way to combat the unfortunate side effects of creating a human life: look cute. Pulling myself together has become an even bigger priority that when I was normal sized. You only have to go online and see a few pics of chubby pregnant ladies in grey sweatsuits with disheveled hair before you’re running to the bathroom to touch up your make up. As it is, I work in a profession where women are not known for pulling themselves together in terms of hair, makeup, or clothing. I’m the only female in my office that wears any makeup and my boss wears sweatshirts with chickadees on them. So the bar is low. But I feel like I have to dress up this ever growing belly. Not in a fancy way. Let’s be honest. I don’t live that lifestyle, nor is it practical for my daily activities. But my style does the trick for me and it shows some effort at least. And my greatest little pick me up this week? A new eyebrow pencil. What a game changer. I have others, but this one is great! Thanks to the good people at MAC cosmetics. And although it doesn’t really dress up the bump, it sure does make me feel better.

So I’ve decided it’s all about the little things. Little victories and focusing on the positive. A little cardiovascular effort equals better muscle tone and a brighter baby and a $17 eyebrow pencil, a $10 tube of mascara and a new scarf helps me remember that all of these changes are just temporary and it’s still me in there. Only now I can enjoy my Skinny Cow without counting calories or feeling guilty. I’m fairly certain babies need an ice cream sandwich every now and then.