Creating a positive mindset during pregnancy
So you just took a pregnancy test and it is positive! YAY! From the moment you glance at those two lines, you immediately start thinking about how you will identify as a preggo momma! You develop expectations on what brand of maternity clothes you’ll wear, the theme of your baby’s nursery, what your birth plan will be…And most commonly, your lifestyle and how you will “look” while carrying the bump! I know I did. We live in a society where social media pressures us to work towards a “bump-only” pregnancy, meaning we gain the minimal amount of weight, switch to organic foods and adopt a new fitness program to build a muscular physique so that we bounce back as quickly as possible to our pre-baby body. While I 100% agree on striving for healthy habits during this beautiful season of life and this is what I try to practice every single day no matter what season I am in, I still find this concept quite toxic.
There were many things I wanted to achieve during my prenatal journey regarding nutrition and fitness…I wanted to gain a big booty from the extra calories I was taking in. I wanted to be able to do pull ups and make muscle gains. I also wanted to maintain endurance with crazy HIIT routines like the influencers were doing on Instagram…while 7 months pregnant! Well surprise, surprise! I wasn’t able to reach any of those goals…
…but that doesn’t mean I failed. And unfortunately, I feel that most women put this immense pressure on themselves (pregnant or not) and feel defeated if/when they aren’t successful. Because let’s face it! Pregnancy can throw you some major curve balls! Keep reading to hear about mine!
This pregnancy in particular was a tough one! I didn’t feel well for most of it. I had first trimester sickness, fatigue and headaches. Second trimester I developed gut issues leaving me extremely bloated and nauseous. And third trimester I had extremely low energy levels from gestational thrombocytopenia (low platelets), which means my son and I sat on the couch and watched A LOT of Winnie the Pooh and not much else. While I did feel a bit disappointed that I wasn’t being a “better mom” for my son, more than ever, I had to practice what I always preach about listening to your body and resting whenever it was necessary. As much as I wanted to continue my workout programs to maintain all the muscle I had gained, it just wasn’t in the cards for me.
Was this frustrating? Sure! Does this mean I gave up all together? NO!!!!! This is what I’m always teaching about when finding balance. I may not have had the energy to workout, but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t stretch and work on breathing exercises. It doesn’t mean that I still couldn’t stay hydrated and eat nourishing foods whenever my body was craving something. Now that I have brought my second baby into this world and I am feeling a little more like myself, I am going to reward my body with what I didn’t give it during my pregnancy…appreciation of what it went through. At the end of the day, I don’t see pregnancy as a setback because that’s not what it is! We aren’t LOSING our pre-baby body, Momma! We are GAINING. We are gaining strength. We are gaining intention. We are gaining purpose!