Loving Your Pregnant Body..

 On an outside view, you look at pregnant girl and think "awww she is the cutest thing!", or something to that extent. Pregnant women have this "glow" to them. I think pregnant women are the cutest thing! And i think its safe to say pretty much everyone thinks that.

BUT, on the flip side, when you YOURSELF are pregnant, you do NOT feel cute. There is so much to a pregnancy that is far from pleasant. Growing pains, peeing a lot, pressure in your vagina, being kicked in the ribs, sore boobs, leaking books, stretch marks, acne, weight gain, swelling, nausea, gingivitis, crazy hormones, hip pain, trouble sleeping, and the list just goes ON and ON.

So how do you learn to Love your pregnant body??

[[When i was pregnant with my first baby, my daughter, i HATED my body. And this pregnancy, i actually love my body. So whats my secret?? What changed??]]

• Mind Over Matter: We ALL know how powerful our brains are. If you think negatively, you're going to FEEL negatively. So a good start to learning to love your pregnant body is start having positive thoughts. FIND the positive. Yes a pregnant body isnt ideal, but its only 9 months. And it truly is beautiful. Find the beauty and embrace it.
• Health and Fitness: Contrary to popular belief, you are NOT eating for 2. You are eating for 1 1/4 and adjust that as baby grows. Even full term, your caloric intake should NOT be eating for 2. With my daughter, i thought, im pregnant, i can eat whatever i want now! Im going to get fat anyway, cant control that, so might as well enjoy it! When that is the WORST thing to do. Your child feeds off of you, dont you want your child to be healthy?? You are SUPPOSED to gain weight, your baby needs it. But gaining EXCESSIVE weight is bad. Think about it, the more you gain (past the recommended weight) the more you have to loose when baby come. The more in shape you keep your body while pregnant, the quicker and easier it will be to get your body back! Fitness is also really important. Its gonna help with your digestive system (we all know pregnancy causes constipation). Its going to help avoid diabetes during pregnancy and all sorts of health problem, especially blood clots, which is a very serious possible pregnancy concern. -BASICALLY if you keep your body healthy, its easier to love :)

• Appreciation: This is your child you are growing, what a miracle pregnancy is. Having this be my second pregnancy, i am already a mom, i know the mothers love. Its just how it is. You can never feel a mothers love until you become one yourself. This is my son inside my belly. I already have this incredible love for him. I LOVE feeling him move. I LOVE seeing him grow. This is my last pregnancy and so i am trying to appreciate ever minute of it and i think thats helped a lot too. The big thing, Not all women get to experience pregnancy and DESPERATELY want to. And we are going to take pregnancy for granted and complain?? Not cool.
• Maturity:   I CRINGE when i see hear these young moms sit and complain about being fat. My only thoughts for them is "GROW UP. You're pregnant. You're not fat. YOU ARE PREGNANT!". This one might seem a little harsh. KEEP in mind.. i was 18 when i got pregnancy with my daughter. Im not being a hypocrite, and i DO know what its like to be a young mother. ALSO, this doesnt apply to everyone, so dont take it personal. With age, comes maturity. When you are in your teens, you are SUPPOSED to be a teenager, hot, run around in bikinis, have the time of your life with your friends. You shouldnt be dealing with pregnancy and babies. So of course you are going to have a hard time "being fat". Braylee was PLANNED. But yes, looking back, i wish i would have waited till i was older. Pregnancy ruins your body. Not even gonna sugar coat it. Yes im still young this pregnancy (23) but i think my mind set is just a lot more mature. 
• Dont get pregnant until you are mentally ready: Pregnancy is something you have to be ready for. The hormonal changes are a lot to handle, the body changes are a lot to handle. Becoming a mom is a HUGE life change. You're body will most likely never be the same after pregnancy (ie stretch marks, wider hips, etc). If you are more worried about your body then your baby, (not eating enough etc) you should not be pregnant.
• Enjoy it:  You arent pregnant forever, Enjoy it while you can. This is a big one for me. Where this is probably our last kid, i want to enjoy this pregnancy. This is actually the time that i DONT have to be all self conscious about my body. Im remaining healthy, but this bump over my jeans is CUTE and for once, not called a gut ;) 
• Acceptance: Lastly, is acceptance. Bottom line, you just need to accept that you are adorable pregnant. Pregnant chicks are so cute. Start accepting the compliments and accept that you ARE beautiful :)