Before falling pregnant I always wondered (and then dreamt) about how I would look like with a baby bump. Despite the inevitable weight gain, I honestly could not wait to have a bump to parade around! But how big would I get? Would my bump be high, low, spread over to the sides or point forwards? All very irrelevant but yet interesting…
Now, 9-months (39-weeks today) pregnant, I look nothing like I thought I would! I still don’t have a big round balloon belly despite my baby supposedly being the size of a watermelon now, but I love my little pointy belly! Yes, I have a bump, bigger boobs, side rolls and thicker arms, as expected. I have much more fluids and fat in my body, in addition to the actual human baby, placenta, amniotic fluids etc. This is what is supposed to happen during pregnancy, but how it looks like varies from a woman to woman depending on genetics, lifestyle, etc – you name it!
It’s obvious that since women come in all shapes and sizes before pregnancy, we would during and after pregnancy as well. Personally, my main motivation for photographing the changes my body is going through is to embrace the journey. Posting my pregnancy progress photos online naturally makes me vulnerable to people’s comments and rather open opinions. I’ve been spared of hurtful comments (so far) but the comparison game is definitely on and it makes me a bit sad.
Half way through my pregnancy I wrote about the “Bump inferiority complex“. I had fallen into the trap of comparing my rather flat tummy to other expecting mums’ and felt like I should have looked different by then – more “pregnant”. The fact is that in my case, having had such active lifestyle and this being my first pregnancy, my midsection is quite tight. Because of this, regardless of me being just a week away from my due date, my belly still looks small to some. Furthermore, I have continued to stay active during my pregnancy which has helped me to preserve some of the muscle mass, which has also meant that yes indeed, there is even some muscle definition! To be 100% clear, this has not been a goal for me. My goal was to stay healthy and active for my baby and myself, to help to cope with the physical (and mental) challenges of pregnancy, child birth and recovery. This is just how 9-months pregnant happens to look like for me. And as we know, no bump/body looks the same 24/7 but food and drink intake, exercise etc all have an impact!
Mentioning numbers can trigger further comparison, but I count on my readers’ not to do that (pretty please 😊) since to put things into context, I will. When we were trying to conceive, I reduced the intensity of my exercise and upped my calorie intake (to gain about 3kg) to normalise my cycle and hormonal balance. During the pregnancy weeks 1-35 I very gradually gained almost 10kg (21lb), which is perfectly within the normal range for a woman with BMI 21. My weight gain was quicker initially due to the rather drastic change in my lifestyle – lower activity levels and much higher food intake (I was tired and hungry!!). Meanwhile, for some women, there is no weight gain in the first trimester at all! In the past 4 four weeks I have actually not put on any more weight, which I understand is also normal since I simply have less space for food in me and my appetite has reduced. There is no reason for concern however since my bump has kept on growing indicating that my baby is still growing!
Not to freak about about the upward creeping number, I checked the average breakdown of what makes up the pregnancy weight gain (source: www.babycentre.co.uk).
1/3 is direcly baby related:
- At birth, a baby weighs about 3.3kg (7.3lb)
- The placenta, which keeps the baby nourished, weighs 0.7kg (1.5lb)
- The amniotic fluid, which supports and cushions the baby, weighs 0.8kg (1.8lb)
2/3 is otherwise pregnancy related:
- The muscle layer of the womb (uterus) grows dramatically, and weighs an extra 0.9kg (2lb)
- Blood volume increases, and weighs an extra 1.2kg (2.6lb)
- Extra fluid in your body, weighing about 1.2kg (2.6lb)
- Breasts weigh an extra 0.4kg (0.9lb)
- Fat, about 4kg (8.8lb), to give you energy for breastfeeding.
Total: 12.5kg (27.6lb).
So there we have it – it’s all “normal”.😊
I so wish we could collectively stop worrying about looking a certain way, pregnant or not! I’m as guilty of it as the next girl, but we can always aim to improve our mindset. Bringing a new life to this world should help with gaining perspective! 😊
Of course I am looking forward to getting back to my “usual body” (or close to), and not the least to get to go wedding dress shopping!! But there will be time for that. Nothing to worry about at this point.
xoxoxo,
Sini