Our changing bodies...doula perspective on pregnancy bodies

Today, I may have the opportunity to maternity shop with a friend, K, for another friend’s pregnancy – friend J. It got me thinking about the changes my body went through pregnant, and about all the different perspectives on those changes.

I miss pregnancy. I felt so beautiful while I was pregnant. I loved every kick that kept me up or made my ribs sore, every run to the bathroom to pee – again, every stare as I waddled through the summer.

Of course, those stares were hard to deal with at first. I was huge by the end of my pregnancy – I’m 5’2” and weighed nearly 200 pounds on August 10, the date of our cesarean. I had put on 50 pounds during the course of the pregnancy, almost all of it after 20 weeks. I was quite a sight those last few weeks.

Even in early pregnancy, I got big quickly. For reference, this is me at the end of college.


I was probably 10 pounds heavier than this at the time I got pregnant – not skinny, but not too overweight either.

This is me at about 12 weeks pregnant. This first picture is trying to suck in, the second is relaxed.

By this point I was entirely in maternity pants, past the point of doing the hair-tie trick with the button of my jeans, and could still fit into a few of my looser t-shirts. All my work clothes were maternity and I was in sweaters trying to hide it from my students a little longer.

Now, many women don’t show at all until after 20 weeks. Either way is normal and beautiful.
This is me a few days after our anatomy ultrasound at 19 weeks.
Obviously there was no hiding it at this point. My students had found out three weeks prior to this picture that I was expecting.
By May as I was just entering the third trimester, I looked like this.

I know many women who don’t look this big at the end of their pregnancy. Very normal. By the end of May, this is how I sat at the doctor’s office:
It was the most comfortable by the time I was this big.
At the end of July when I was about 36 weeks, this was me:
Thanks to elle effect for these gorgeous bump pictures! I was stretched to the max and loving every minute. I specifically asked Lauren, our photographer, to not edit out my stretch marks. I earned those.
Finally, this was me a few days before the cesarean at 39/40 weeks.
I was huge and finally starting to feel it.

I think a lot of it has to do with your personal build and your husband/partner’s build. My husband is 6’5” and solidly built. I knew I would have big babies and was very comfortable with my body’s ability to deal with that. But being on 5’2” myself, this meant my baby had nowhere else to go but out almost immediately. In fact, in late pregnancy when he was breech, he got stuck under a rib. That rib is still out of place. Just a fact of life that my body is more compact.

I hope seeing these pictures can reassure those women who find themselves in my position in life – a small woman carrying a big baby with nowhere to go but out! You are beautiful darling!

Believe it, live it, and you’ll feel it.