Emily

Dear Expectant Mamas,

PLEASE LOVE YOURSELVES. Please???

If you wanna show off your baby bump for the world to see, do it. There is no reason for you to be self-conscious. You’re building a human from scratch and you SHOULD feel excited about that. Don’t worry about those airbrushed and retouched “standing in a field of wildflowers overlooking a lake at sunset” Instagram maternity photoshoots. The best pictures are the ones people can actually relate to: standing in front of a vanity mirror wearing sweatpants, house a mess, stretch marks on fleek.

You, taking a mirror selfie of your belly even after you’ve just woke up, are crafting a human inside of you just as much as the woman who got her hair and make-up did and called her professional photographer friend to take maternity photos.

And please don’t get caught up in trying to live up to some ridiculously high expectations of what being a expecting mom is supposed to be, based on what you see these super-active, social-media-famous “ultra mamas” doing on Instagram and Tumblr. You don’t gotta do complex yoga routines or go to the gym and lift weights if you don’t want to. If you wanna eat a sammitch and take a nap in the middle of the day, you go right on ahead, mama…you earned it and you deserve it. If you feel more comfortable stretching out on a recliner with your feet up because baby is wreaking havoc on your hips and lower back, don’t let nobody tell you that you can’t.

As your mother I promise that I will always be in one of three places;

In front of you, to cheer you on.

Behind you, to have your back.