Bumpin' and Bloated

How I Learned to Love My Weird Pregnant Body

There's this big myth out there that the second trimester is when the clouds part, the birds sing, and you transform into a glowing earth goddess who floats from prenatal yoga to the farmers market in a flowing linen dress. Yeah… no. What no one tells you is that while your morning sickness might finally calm down, your brain? Still running hot. I went from puking in secret at work to crying in the shower because my once-favorite jeans didn't even make it past my thighs. Not exactly the magical transformation I was promised.

I remember standing in front of the mirror around week 17, looking at my body like it belonged to a stranger. My boobs had become their own ecosystem, my belly was in that is it a bump or did I eat a Chipotle family meal phase, and I kept touching my thighs like when did these start clapping back? And then came the mental whiplash: part of me wanted to celebrate this life-changing journey, and the other part just wanted to put on a hoodie and pretend I was still my old self. If this sounds familiar, if your confidence is playing hide-and-seek with your hormones—girl, I see you. You're not vain. You're not broken. You're a whole human navigating a full-body renovation with zero sleep and 900 apps tracking your cervix.

It's Okay to Grieve Your Pre-Pregnancy Body (Even If You're Grateful)

Let's be real: even when you're wildly excited to be pregnant, there's grief involved. Grief for your old wardrobe. Grief for your energy. Grief for being able to lie on your stomach without strategically arranging pillows like you're building a fort. The pressure to "love your bump" all the time is so real—and so unfair. You can be grateful for your pregnancy and still miss your old jeans, your defined jawline, or even just the ability to pee without an Olympic-level squat.

I want to say this louder for the Type-A, people-pleasing, high-achieving mamas in the back: struggling with body image during pregnancy doesn't make you a bad mom—it makes you human. You're not failing just because you're uncomfortable. You're growing, stretching, adapting in ways no one else can see—and some of that growth? It's internal.

My Target Parking Lot Breakdown (Because of Course)

Yes, it happened. I was trying to load a jumbo box of prenatal vitamins into the car when I caught a glimpse of myself in the window. Swollen ankles. Puffy face. Belly that felt more lumpy than cute. I didn't recognize the girl in the reflection—and it hit me like a hormone tsunami. Cue the sobbing. A sweet stranger asked if I needed help, and I could barely whisper, "I'm just pregnant" before ugly crying into the steering wheel.

That moment wrecked me... and it also woke me up. I realized I was holding onto a version of myself that didn't exist anymore. And maybe—just maybe—that was okay. Maybe this new version, the one learning to surrender control and accept softness, needed some love too.

The Weird In-Between Stage No One Talks About

The second trimester is full of contradictions. You're finally showing, but it doesn't always look like a "cute bump" yet. Your energy comes back, but only for like… 45 minutes a day. You might feel movement, but it's not strong enough to comfort you on the hard days. And all the while, your body is morphing faster than you can emotionally keep up with.

Here's the part that's hard to admit: I didn't feel beautiful. I felt awkward, swollen, and kind of lost. And yet, there were moments—tiny ones—when I caught myself admiring the curve of my belly or the glow in my cheeks and thought, maybe I'm not doing so bad. That's what this blog is about: not pretending to be body-positive 24/7, but learning to make peace with the messy middle.

6 Things That Helped Me Embrace the Bloat, the Bump & the Breakdown

Let's skip the cutesy affirmations and get into what actually helped me reconnect with my body and feel a little less like a confused marshmallow person:

1. Pregnancy Affirmations… But Make Them Snarky

I couldn't vibe with the super-spiritual ones at first. So I made my own:

"My body is weird AF and I'm still a boss."
"This belly is building LEGENDARY thighs."

It sounds silly, but talking to myself with humor helped me reclaim power.

2. Curated My Social Feed Like a Savage

Goodbye, fitfluencers with six-pack bumps. Hello, real moms talking about stretch marks and sciatica. You have full permission to mute, unfollow, and block anything that triggers your insecurity. Protect your peace like it's your full-time job.

3. Picked One Outfit and Wore It to Death

I found a pair of black maternity overalls that made me feel 7% like a pregnant Rihanna and 93% like myself. That's a win. Find your signature pregnancy outfit and ride it until the wheels fall off.

4. Talked About My Body Stuff Out Loud

At first, I felt guilty admitting I didn't love the way I looked. But once I shared it with a friend—who immediately said "OMG same"—I felt 10 pounds lighter (emotionally, unfortunately not physically). Vulnerability invites validation.

5. Took Bump Pics Even When I Didn't Want To

Not for Instagram. For me. I took them when I was bloated, cranky, glowing, crying—every mood. Looking back, it helped me see the beauty I couldn't recognize in the moment.

6. Let Myself Be Tender With the "Old Me"

I stopped pretending that I didn't miss her. I wrote a letter (yeah, I'm dramatic) thanking her for the years of holding me up, and promised to keep showing up—even if I had to do it with a belly band and hemorrhoid cream.

You Don't Have to Love Every Inch—But You Deserve to Be Kind to It

Here's the deal: your pregnant body isn't broken. It's just different. And it's doing the wildest, hardest, most sacred thing it's ever done.

You don't have to love every stretch mark. You don't have to feel confident every day. But you do deserve to feel seen, heard, and respected—by others, and by yourself.

So give yourself some grace. Or a foot rub. Or a double-chocolate cookie at 10 a.m. You're allowed.

The Takeaway: Laugh, Cry, Bloat, Repeat

If you're halfway through your second trimester and wondering, Is it normal to feel this way?—YES. If you're struggling to embrace your new body—SAME. But if you're still showing up, still growing, still trying? That's love.

So, go ahead and cry in the parking lot. Then get back up, fix your hair in the mirror, and whisper, "We got this."

Because we do. 💪💕