It's Not So Cute

   When I first found out I was pregnant I was a size 7. That's like a size Medium, right? I wasn't fat, I wasn't thin, I was average and proportionate. To be honest I thought I was hot stuff. I would get my hair and nails done on the regular and I never went anywhere without my make-up.

  I kept up my cute charade up until the end of my 1st trimester when the morning sickness got to be too much. I felt so sick that my hair and make up seemed like a waste of time since I was hunched over a toilet so often. It alao made me break out with acne more than usual. So that stopped.

   Then the weight gain hit mid 2nd semester and none of my clothes fit. I had to buy maternity clothes and for some reason maternity clothes were not flattering on my body.

   During the 3rd trimesterling my legs and feet were swollen and I recall almost always being gassy. Also at that time the morning sickness had been traded for heartburn. Lastly, i had stopped getting my hair and nails done for fear of inhaling harmful chemicals.

   So when I look back at the few pictures of myself during my pregnancy, all I see is a fat, frumpy, unkempt, and uncomfortable pregnant me.

I recall talking to some friends who were also first time moms, all of this is natural. They had all gone through the similar things. But I was skeptical. When I got pregnant the 2nd time I tried a little harder. I wanTed to try harder to have that fairy-tale pregnancy because I knew what to expect and I was older. But truth be told, no matter how much effort I put into trying to look cute the end result was the same. 3rd trimester I was frumpy, unkempt, and uncomfortable... the only difference was that the 2nd time around I actually embraced it.

   I was okay with it and actually glad to not have to care about my looks. Pregnancy is exhausting on its own and trying to stay cute was even more exhausting.

  Now there were times when getting all done up would make me feel a little better and it may be that way for many but I just want women to understand that if trying to keep up your appearance is becoming exhausting, it's okay to let it go. We shouldn't stress about our looks during this time.