25-27 weeks pregnant

26 weeks

SO... 26 weeks came and went (and I'm now in the third trimester!!!). Gained 20 lbs so far. I can tell that about 5-7 of that is fat weight, which I hear is normal (past that is just excess!). So I'm not going to fret over that, and just enjoy the whole pregnancy process :) Here's the thing about being pregnant, or being a woman for that matter: you will be judged. Women will  always compare themselves with you and therefore put judgement on you. 

For example, a lot of women think I am small and have no belly. 1) this is false, my belly is measuring exactly the same as the week I should be (in cm)    AND 2) women exaggerate in their mind what they think their belly was OR are ashamed of the way they held a baby in their belly.

This is not healthy! In no way should we be comparing or judging others. I realize it's a way for people to make themselves feel better or put the blame on somebody else (i.e. "well SHE just works out too much..." etc) for the way they imagined they looked, but it is not a good mindset to indulge in. If I have learned anything, it's that all women handle pregnancy differently and uniquely. It is beautiful! OWN the way you do pregnancy! That doesn't mean you should own the fact that you just want to eat candy and sit the whole time, because this is not "owning" your pregnancy, it's letting pregnancy own you. But yes, let yourself have that craving every now and then, get physically active for the health of you and your baby, but let whatever happens to your body happen! You might carry your baby differently than someone else, or you might have non-elastic genes and get stretchmarks or have your belly button stretch out even though others don't. OWN IT. Those things you can't control! 

And I wanted to point out in a picture format why some people don't see me with a belly....it's called walking with a tight core. Ever since I started focusing on keeping my core tight while working out and walking, my abs naturally became tight. I didn't do any more ab exercises, I just let my normal routine all go through my core; and strong abs came as a result. I try to keep up this habit even while pregnant because I want to support my posture and keep my core strong without doing much abdominal work. So below you will see a picture of me tightening my core, and one of me letting it hang lose (at 26 weeks).

See the difference? Yes, I like for people to know I'm pregnant. And sometimes I feel pressured to look big and purposefully stick my belly out just to ease people's minds (people judge when they think you should be bigger than you are). But it's not an okay pressure, and I don't like to give up my posture just to put on a show for others. Womanhood is a hard process! We hurt ourselves by allowing our minds to compare or criticize. 

I'm finishing phase 1 of T25 this week and am moving on to phase 2 (beta) next week! I've added the weight routine from "How to Exercise When You're Expecting" on MWF because I modify much of my T25 moves and therefore need a little strength added to it. But I love T25 during pregnancy! It's great, and the modifications make it so I can do it any day throughout my whole pregnancy.

If you'd like to find out more about exercising while pregnant, you must get this book!