Dr. Self-Love, Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My OB

When I got pregnant, I was in the best shape of my life. I’d spent the previous two years learning everything I could about nutrition and developing a daily exercise routine. I had spent my previous 26 years feeling envious of athletically inclined women, and once I had it, I coveted my fit body. I had imagined that when I got pregnant, I would apply what I had learned, eat sensibly, and feel okay about the inevitable weight gain, because I would finally be growing the baby I had wanted for so long. None of that turned out to be true.

Turns out that first trimester nausea makes raw vegetables and Greek yogurt really unappealing. And apparently first trimester fatigue doesn’t just mean you feel sleepy; at times, it can make climbing a set of stairs feel like a trip up Everest. By my 18-week appointment, I was worn down and stressed out about what I imagined to be out-of-control weight gain (it wasn’t.).

Luckily, I expressed my anxiety about baby weight to my OB, who suggested I forgo weigh-ins at my future appointments and talked to me about “re-purposing” my body. It’s still a struggle, but accepting healthy weight gain is slowly getting easier. I’m eating cheese fries when the baby demands them, but I’m still keeping carrots on the menu, too. After all, this is the easiest it will ever be to make sure my child eats their vegetables.

Erin Bowling holds a Masters in Folklore, blogs casually, and can bake a wicked batch of cookies.