I’ve been self-conscious of my stomach for most of my life. As a kid, I was fairly skinny, but I always had a little bit of my “baby fat” left in my stomach. When my teen years came, puberty chose to keep my abdomen as the first place to store extra fat. I would wear short shorts long before I’d wear a shirt that exposed my belly. That was an area of my body to be kept hidden in the dark under a shirt, sucked in, and held in place with support garments.
So pregnancy functions as a “time off for good behavior” period for my belly. Instead of embarrassing me, my expanding midsection is proof of a new life being nurtured under that layer of skin, fat and muscle. What was once flabby and jiggly is now firm with a defined shape. This is the one time in my life when I’m not ashamed of this part of my body. Good thing, too, since my long torso practically guarantees that my belly is poking out under every shirt I own.
And this is also the only time in my life when I could willingly post pictures of my exposed stomach for all the world to see. (Although I am a little embarrassed at my unfinished wallpaper job in the bathroom.) Here is the baby belly, in full glory as it holds a little girl already estimated at seven pounds:
Congratulations, She sounds like she is going to be big and healthy.
your belly looks beautiful!
awwww, hi little girl!
Wow, that’s so cool. 7 pounds – amazing. She’s getting ready, C! Are you?
lol yeah I didn’t mind baring the pregnant belly because its beautiful, there’s alife in there. Now that I’m not pregnant forget about it lol
You look amazing and gorgeous – and you are way braver than I. I’m not sure I could share a belly shot!
Beeeyutiful belly!
Thanks for the sympathy regarding my kidney stone. Much appreciated :)!
beautiful!
I never took any photos of my pregnancy belly. Simply because my stomach was so awful after gall bladder surgery 2 years prior. I had what looked like a pregnancy spare tire on top of my abdomen. It was awful. I still cry about it.
You look adorable!
Awwww. You look great. So does the belly! So excited for you!
Looks GREAT, that belly. You too! Getting close!
Christina! You won the contest I ran over at gnmparents.com! You won “No One Cares What You Had For Lunch: 100 Ideas For Your Blog.”
Shoot me an email and I’ll get your info.
You look wonderful! Are you ready for the arrival?
You look awesome. And I totally know what you mean. Pregnancy was so liberating for me because it was the first time in my life I was in love with my gut.
You look lovely!
Great belly pictures! I had some done with my pregnancy and I still love to look at them! 🙂