Thursday, December 6, 2012

As I Grow and Change

Welcome to the Body: AMAZING Carnival!

This post was written as a part of the Body: AMAZING Carnival co-hosted by Jennifer of True Confessions of a Real Mommy and Amy of Anktangle. Carnival participants were invited to write about how we learn to appreciate the ways our bodies grow and change. Our posts explain some incredible ways our bodies impress and amaze us.

Please read to the bottom to find a list of submissions from all of today's carnival participants.


Photo by Nicole Aarstad,
Bella Photography
I love being pregnant.

There, I said it. I'm one of those women. I recognize that I am fortunate to be one of the minority who don't experience morning sickness, or worse. I'm let off the hook pretty easy with a few mild waves of nausea that cease by the end of the first trimester. That doesn't mean that my pregnancies are a perfect 9 months of comfortable bliss; but it does mean that I embrace the exhaustion, the aches, and the discomforts as part of the incredible process my body takes on to bring my children into the world. Yes, I occasionally complain about some of the inconveniences of pregnancy, like having to get up to pee 5 times a night, but overall, I both celebrate and am humbled by the adventure of pregnancy and the transformation of my body it entails.

Photo by Nicole Aarstad, Bella Photography


Photo by Nicole Aarstad,
Bella Photography
It amazes me. My body grows and changes to accommodate a growing baby. New stretch marks pop up on a seemingly daily basis. My hair and nails grow faster, even as my ability to bend over to tend to my toenails disappears. My abdomen expands as the movements coming from within it become stronger and more purposeful. My body is growing, nourishing, and protecting a whole new person! What more amazing feat could my body accomplish? My body will probably never run a marathon. It will probably never climb Mount Everest. It will probably never lift an impressive amount of weight. My body is amazing.

I never feel more beautiful and more at home in my body than I do while pregnant. With a child growing and thriving inside of me, I cannot find fault with the extra fat, with the road map of stretch marks, or even with the extra chin. Every inch of me is beautiful and amazing as it helps to create life. My husband and daughter shower my changing body with attention and admiration, awed and amazed by the process. I am granted the opportunity to show my daughter an unsurpassed love and profound respect for the body I have, an amazing gift to both of us.
Photo by Nicole Aarstad, Bella Photography

Body: AMAZING, indeed.
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More to read and love about honoring our bodies at these other blogs. Please visit them all and leave some comment love!

Jennifer from True Confessions of a Real Mommy is moved to trust her body, even the fuzzy parts. You can also find Jennifer on Facebook and Twitter.

Amy of Anktangle writes about living with chronic pain and how she appreciates the ways her body functions in spite of its challenges. You can also find Amy on Facebook and Twitter.

Mari from Honey on the Bum talks a little bit about how her body has changed and how she loves it and what it does for her. You can also find Mari on Twitter.

Shannon at Pineapples & Artichokes talks about why she's not worried about how her body looks, because it has a much more important job right now.

Joella from Fine and Fair discusses her love and respect for her body as it grows and changes during pregnancy over. Hear more from Joella on Twitter and Facebook.

Issa Waters at LoveLiveGrow on how Paganism taught her to accept reality and by extension herself and her body. Find her on Twitter and Facebook.

Amy W. at Me, Mothering, and Making it All Work shares about her love/hate relationship with a nose that she saw as ugly . . . until she started to learn to love it. Amy W. can also be followed on Twitter and Facebook.

Destany at They Are All of Me writes about releasing the negative notions she was taught about her period, and embracing it instead.

Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children talks about how she had to push through her pre-conditioned comfort level and found herself in a position to naturally be open and honest with her children. More great stuff from Mandy on Facebook.

Lauren at Hobo Mama is not a runner . . . but she proved herself wrong by completing a race. Keep up with Lauren's adventures on Twitter and Facebook.

7 comments:

  1. I LOVE your tattoo! And I love your post!
    Pregnant bodies are wonderful to behold and they are a tremendous gift. I regret that when I was younger and less wise, I did not appreciate the miracle of my first two pregnancies. I did for the second two, however, and I'm glad I wised up!

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  2. I share your feeling that there's just nothing quite as truly AMAZING about our bodies as watching them grow a new human being. The adoration, awe, and curiosity pregnancy invokes is unlike any other. Your body is amazing, Joella. I'm so glad you're relishing in the experience of this pregnancy.

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  3. What lovely photos! I am not a happy pregnant lady, and I am jealous that I didn't get that experience, but I'm so happy for every mom that does get to feel the amazing wonder inherent in pregnancy.

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  4. Ah, yes, lovely! Your photos are gorgeous. One thing I loved about pregnancy was (ready for shallowness?) that for the first time in a long time, I could stop sucking in my stomach! I could just be. I swear, I haven't even gotten back into the habit after this last pregnancy. It's kind of nice to just be the shape you are.

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  5. Honestly I am do distracted by your beautiful body art! I love how pregnancy can be such an eye opener to what our bodies are really capable of!

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  6. Your photos are lovely! haha Lauren, I have the very same experience about "sucking in" . . . I have to remind myself to engage my abs for posture's sake, NOT to look thinner. . . but I too LOVE being pregnant. It's totally - well, amazing!

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  7. Lovely photos and a lovely view of pregnancy!

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