Words of Encouragement...or Photos of encouragement, WHATEVER

It's been a few days since my last post, and in case you were wondering, yes, I did eat everything I could get my hands on over the holiday weekend. It was so worth it. But I exercised, too. Not enough, but I did. Just.so.you.know.

I think I have talked enough about my weight for you to know that I have a small obsession.... And I think I have talked enough about my {gorgeous} Little Man for you to know that I have good reason to have an obsession with my weight since I just had a baby....

And I think I use ellipses too much.

Also, the phrase, "so, anyway".

So anyway, over the weekend, I got a Facebook message from my friend Lisa. Lisa is newly pregnant with her little one and {obviously} is a little concerned about her situation...

"I had to tell you this! Yesterday, I was maternity clothes shopping and feeling a little large and self conscious all day. I kept asking my mom, "Should I be showing already?" Then I remembered that you had photos on your page of yourself week by week! So I went to see what you looked like at this same point (14 weeks) and how much better it made me feel. Not that you were large AT ALL, but that you were showing. So, thanks for taking those pictures, I'm sure I will continue to look at them as my belly grows too :)..."

Since I know you are going to go to Facebook and look at that 14 week pic, I will save you the trouble.





Now, for someone in my shoes, this could be taken 2 ways. I could be overly sensitive and go the whole, "Oh, great, I was so big that she feels better..." route, or I could go the "Yay! I am helping someone" route. I think, just because I am in a good mood, that I will go with option 2. I like to feel like I am helping people. Which is one of the reasons I am writing this post.

The fact is that no matter how adorable some people are pregnant, and how tiny Bethenny Frankel was pregnant, you may or may not be that person. I am not. I got really, really big.

As in, I went from this at 6 weeks


to this at 40


And despite my best efforts and my 45 minutes of exercise 3 times a week as the doctor recommended, I gained 60 lbs with Little Man.

And I am working hard to get it off, but the fact remains:

WE ARE NOT ALL MEANT TO BE TINY PREGNANT WOMEN

I don't know where we all have come up with the idea that we are supposed to be. It's pregnancy. You are growing a tiny human in there!

We are all completely different. I have a friend, Hilary, who is pregnant with her 3rd and is barely showing. My sister, Sarah, is pregnant with her 3rd, due almost exactly the same time as Hilary, and Sarah's belly is already a table top. They both look amazing, they are both carrying beautiful, healthy babies, but my sister's babies tend to be 10 pounders and Hilary is just a tiny little person.

These are all variables to consider.

Most of you know how much I HATE the way we view people in this world. I hate people being judged for their weight as much as I hate people being judged for the color of their skin. And yet there is so much pressure to fit into that perfect image. And I HATE it. I hate to hear parents tell their kids that they can't enjoy a cookie or a piece of cake because "It will make you fat". OH.MY.GOSH. PLEASE. How bout, let's forget about you being fat and talk about you being healthy, before I give you a complex and make you anorexic. How bout that!

Moral to the story:

If you are pregnant and rapidly gaining poundage, you are not alone. Do what you can to be healthy. Enjoy your pregnancy {as much as you can}. Take care of yourself and your baby. But forget about the weight. And stop comparing yourself to someone else. God is using you as a little greenhouse to grow a beautiful baby in. Enjoy whatever shape he needs that greenhouse to be.

Don't you enjoy my soapbox rants? I know I do.