It’s amazing what pregnancy can do to a woman’s confidence.
All my life I have struggled with my self confidence. Even when I was in the best shape of my life in high school, I always thought something was wrong with me. My “pooch” on my stomach was never skinny enough, my arms would jiggle when I lifted them (or so I thought they did back then).
I dropped out of college and started to actually gain weight. My “pooch” got bigger, hips became wider, arms more jiggly, and my face became more plump. I let myself go to say the least. I looked in the mirror and was ashamed of what I’ve become.
Let me tell you something though, being pregnant has made all of that negativity go away. I’ve never been more confident in myself then I am right now. I have never felt more beautiful and proud of myself. I’ve gained a total of 14 lbs this whole pregnancy.
I’ve had a doctor shame me when I hit 10lbs, saying it was too much and that I needed to cut literally everything out of my diet, but my other doctors have said my weight gain is fabulous.
But here I am, 14lbs up since I’ve become pregnant, ankles swollen everyday as soon as I go to stand, clothes don’t fit, I’m out of breath after doing one flight of stairs, and touching my toes isn’t even an option anymore, and I feel beautiful. I am beautiful. I will be beautiful after I have my baby (even if I don’t lose the weight), though some days I won’t believe it. For all of you ladies that struggle with confidence in yourself, just know that no matter the thickness of your thighs or the roundness of your “pooch”, you are beautiful! It took me to become pregnant to realize this, but I hope and pray for you that soon you’ll find that day, whenever that may be, where you look in the mirror and say
“yes, I am beautiful”.
💕
💕-Megan
