Positive body image thread

groovylocks · June 2015

So I notice a lot of us are talking about all the negative feelings we're getting about our new bodies. And i thought it would be helpful to start a thread about what we all love about our new bodies.

I actually am LOVING my body right now. Long may it last! I was kind of thin and boring before getting pregnant. Sort of had a mousey body. And pregnancy has made me lose some weight which sucks.... but at the same time, my breasts have gone up two cup sizes. It was weird and awkward at first but i fell in love as soon as I realized how to make cleavage. I love my little bump and my face has gotten rosier too.

I feel really sexy right now. I feel like a pinup. And i feel like i'm making life. I'm fierce and stretching and bursting out into the world. I feel really badass.

koala1107 · July 2015

I'm definitely a bit self conscious these days as I'm used to being a twig with no curves and it's taken some getting used to. But yes to cleavage! I've never had any before (unless you count using bronzer to contour a shadow between your boobs O:-) ) so I'm enjoying that!
Thanks for making this, would love to hear more positive body image stories as it's been a struggle for me lately!

angetralala · July 2015

I always had a slim hourglass shape - small waist with generous T&A. I stopped birth control in early 2014, and gained 30 lbs within 4 months. It was terrifying, and horrible, and was the worst thing to happen to someone who was 7 years in recovery for bulimia.

I wanted to lose the weight before trying to get pregnant, but I didn't. My OB actually suggested pregnancy may 'reset' my hormones after birth, so it will be interesting to see what happens.

However! On to the positivity! I haven't gained any weight yet, but I have a lovely round bump. I feel capable, and strong, and not at all overweight - in fact, I feel just the right size to go through this process. I can't imagine being 30 lbs smaller and carrying a baby - although, of course, I'd like to lose the weight before baby #2! I think your body does what it needs to do, as long as you're smart about taking care of it.

....I say that having just ate a bunch of puffy Cheez Doodles.

)

rain0831boww · July 2015

I love the way my husband looks at me and that I'm growing this beautiful life inside of me and that's enough for me.

RSB1982 · July 2015

Yay for positive body image stories! I have boobs! For the first time in my life! Pre pregnancy I had a very boyish figure - I'm short and thin and have quite the flat chest. I'm curious to see how my body changes as the baby grows. Pregnancy is so weird and amazing!

jessica122015 · July 2015

I've always been like a string bean, tall, long limbs, small chested. Luckily I have some sort of a butt. I am so jealous of the people who have actually gone up cup sizes already but I know that my body is moving at the pace it needs to to provide everything for baby

I used to chew my nails and never could grow them because they would break easily but pregnancy nails rock! I've been growing my hair for almost 2 years now and I'm a couple inches away from my length goal (my lower back dimples) my hair seems to be doing better because of pregnancy. Also my freckles darkened and my cheeks have a pinkish natural tint. I haven't gain any weight but I have a little bump and I am loving it! I feel so beautiful ;;) Only thing is I'm debating about leaving in my belly ring or taking it out, I think my belly button will look too weird all stretched out with a long ring through it LOL but still thinking about it!

Praying41 · July 2015

I'm loving my boobies. I've never had a cleavage before. And although I'm having a hard time accepting that my belly is growing, I'm enjoying never having to suck my stomach in. I can let it stick out and be proud of it. I've also noticed DH looking at my belly a lot lately and it's a bit uncomfortable but also kinda cool cause he stares at it with awe and curiosity.

Alyssaerin996 · July 2015

Love love love this thread!! I really struggled with body image before getting pregnant the first time. Then when I did conceive, All I wanted was to be happy but I felt so down and miserable about my appearance. When I lost that pregnancy, I vowed not to let that mindset bring me down again and to just enjoy the miracle my body was producing, if I got so lucky again. It's helped me immensely this pregnancy! I try to immediately turn around my negative thoughts into positive ones when they pop up. That said, it's TOUGH! There are lots of negative thoughts floating around out there that get into our heads, despite best intentions.

Today was a tough day for me (preggo bacne showed up, lol), but someone told me I was glowing (who didn't know I was pregnant) and damn't, I believed them!!

I'm going to bookmark this thread and read it everyday.

taysun · July 2015

I just want to say how awesome my hair is right now. I am so into my own hair. Not to mention at 14 weeks the bloat has disappeared and I can fit into my clothes again while I wait for the bump to really appear!

BostonBaby1 · July 2015

Beautiful thread. I don't have much to add, but I just wanted to say that.

stephaniearthurs · July 2015

I have always been self-conscious of my belly, and dressed to mostly hide, not show it off, but now that it is bigger because of baby (a little me, a little baby) I've embraced it! I'm not going to wear a bikini on the beach, but I bought a body con type maternity dress and I like the way it is!! I don't know how I will feel after baby, but for now I'm trying to love it!

mac-n-cheesy · July 2015

I had struggled with eating disorders since my father's death when I was 12 and at one point was down to 88 pounds @ 5'8". This was only four years ago (I'm newly 30 years old).
Entering pregnancy I had such fear that negative body image issues would invade my world but I love having my bump. It feels so good to know that I am nurturing a little girl's life inside of me and has given me a sense of purpose beyond myself. Also, it has allowed me to let go of the obsessive body control my eating disorder plagued me with. Now my body is doing something amazing and honestly something I feared I would never have because of the 15 years of torture I put by body through.
I love love LOVE my bump, and oddly enough during my stomach was my main obsession during my difficult times. Whenever I wear a tight shirt my husband is in awe and goes crazy at how adorable he thinks it is and he's so completely NOT the type of person to gush like this. I'm just letting pregnancy take over while being mindful of eating healthy and fitting in some exercise so I give my high-risk pregnancy the best possible chance of a good outcome.
Now the boobs which are somewhere between a G and H (DDD/F surgically enhanced in 2012) are out of control but that's another story and my fault for going as big as my surgeon would let me with my amount of available skin and body frame!
@groovylocks awesome thread. I feel like a lot of us needed this right now, so thank you!

fmraglio · July 2015

@groovylocks I love you for this.

I've been dealing with some anxiety and other issues since recovering from an eating disorder (clinically EDNOS but really it was anorexia, then after treatment bulimia, then afyer treatment BED). I was tiny and then next thing I knew I was overweight and there was no middle and it all came down to an unhealthy relationship with food. And while I have severe anxiety about my body changing during pregnancy I can't honestly say I feel most normal now that I can ever remember when it comes to food (despite the morning sickness). Everytime something changes though- a stretch mark, bigger boobs, darker nips, panties too small, I freak out.

I'm working on loving myself and I LOVE how fantastic my hair looks, and how my eyes have changed color, and I do have to say my tiny bump is so cute. This baby is worth every adjustment and more.

arichlife · July 2015

You should all check out Beauty Redefined. It's a great organization that promotes positive body image (pregnant or not!) and has research based information, tips, and tools about how to combat the unrealistic beauty ideas set by the media. I love their stuff! They are on FB and Instagram

wscopeland · July 2015

I just spent 4 days at the beach and I must say that Ive never felt better in my bikini. I had to go buy a new swimsuit to fit my boobs and butt so I didn't look like a stuffed sausage, however I loved flaunting my baby bump...where normally I'd have been so self conscious of not being rail thin with ripped abs. Not anymore! I'm loving me some me!!! Lol.

)

kimb311 · July 2015

Great thread! Love this! I rock the bump at all times! It's such a relief to stop holding my stomach in. I have been doing that for most of my life! FREEDOM!
I have always struggled with weight and body image. Add to this pregnancy my advanced age(42) and it adds a whole layer of insecurity. But I will say the last few days I have felt really, idk, pretty? And it must be coming across because today hubs was checking out my bump while I was in the shower and said " you have a really pretty belly" odd compliment but I'll take it. LOL and then I face time him after my 16 week appointment and he cut me off to tell me I " looked radiant" :x

MrsBwIVF · July 2015

I was a chunk before pregnancy and will definitely only get bigger from here.
I went from a size 4 when we started dating to a size 10 from years of infertility meds and lack of motivation.
DH loves me for me, not my body and it's amazing! Also, more cushion for the pushing!!!!

duckinoven · July 2015

Love this thread and so beautiful to read the stories from PPs.

I'm loving my body right now too. I've always been curvy with boobs and a booty and I'm loving how my belly is growing with LO. The boobs have gone up a cup or 2, but I love feeling and seeing the daily changes as my body adjusts. Even more I love how DH spends time every day to discover the changes and look in complete awe at what's happening right now. While I can't wait for the bump to be more obvious to strangers, I love that DH and even my mom get so excited at the tiny bit I am showing.

groovylocks · July 2015

Look at all the sexy-body happy! I'm so pleased to see people entering into the spirit of this thing! You are all beautiful.

amw2133 · July 2015

This is a great thread! I've always been on the bigger side. I was at my smallest and healthiest about 3 years ago when I started dating my now hubby. Between us dating and my mom passing away I packed on the pounds. However my husband thinks I'm beautiful and tells me that daily. The way he looks at me now that I'm pregnant makes me feel beautiful and invincible. Plus I have totally given up trying to hide the tummy pudge which in and of itself is kind of liberating.

Praying41 · July 2015

I had someone tell me yesterday that I'm glowing. Seriously made my day. I've been feeling so self concious of my face breaking out so bad so it honestly was like a break for my insecurity!

nodeay · July 2015

I would just like to say thank you to all who posted on this thread. Body image has always been a struggle for me but the help of my man I was becoming comfortable in my own skin and I was owning it. I've always been short and chubby with big books and big thighs. It felt as soon as I was comfortable and happy with myself, we got pregnant. I was so happy, scared but happy and never thought anything about my body image would change...but it did. As I slowly gained weight that I had been struggling to keep off for years my confidence crumbled. My man doesn't get it he thinks I'm beautiful and seems more in love with my pregnant body than before but sometimes you can't stop the thoughts that pop into your head when you try on clothes and nothing fits. I got on here today to read about the amazing things happening to baby inside me and I glanced and saw this post and it really has made my week!
So positive things...my books are firmer and fuller

Whovian84 · July 2015

I was getting really down on myself and my recent weight gain, but let me tell you what the biggest ego boost has been. I work with a whole hospital unit of Jamaican nurses who cannot stop telling me how lucky I am that I'm gaining weight in "all the right places" and commenting on how great my expanding butt and rack look. Every day it's "your husband is a lucky man!" It's hilarious. So, now I have a little spring in my step!

KATETHOMPSON02 · July 2015

This is my 3rd baby... So I've been down the body change road a few times... With my first pregnancy, I cried a ton in the shower. It was the only place I felt like I could be honest about all that was happening with me because everyone around me was saying "it's great, you're pregnant! Yay!!" But inside, I felt like I was losing myself and my body and what I knew was me. At the time, I had no idea what the reality of having a child was, of the love and strength that would come from my body- and how I was turning into a life growing and giving woman. I only knew that I considered myself to be thin and healthy and athletic without much effort- and I was growing more and more round by the minute.
That said, this being my third time around, I am totally relaxed about my body now. I have some stretch marks and my stomach is soft- but my daughter was actually upset at the thought of the new baby making my soft belly go away. My boobs were an a-b before all the babes and after nursing, they have returned to a-b size each time... And the only thing different with this 3rd is my boobs haven't gotten nearly as big this time. With my first they were a D right after she was born, with my second they were c-d... So I'm expecting less this time around. Maybe they are more effecient??!
One thing I know is true. You won't look back later and think about how fat or ugly you look- about your pimples or your thighs... you will look back and think about how young and happy you look. So drink water, take pictures and be patient with your body and love the new you.

Taylovesbrad · July 2015

I've always worked out and ate healthy but this pregnancy and nausea have thrown me for a loop. At 18 weeks I'm still have morning sickness. I've had bad days with my new body and weight and felt very self consious.

The past week I had to decide that I need to accept my body during this pregnancy no matter what. That there really is a baby in there (with no kicks ect and no ultra sound since 6 weeks it's hard to keep that in mind sometimes).

My husband is so sweet and tells me I'm beautiful and like you ladies is loving my new rack.

Thanks for this thread. It is encouraging to know I'm not alone and we are all fighting the same battles.

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