Body Image Issue

It's normal to feel worried about your changing body and weight for pregnancy. I was worried that I would not accept the changes but I took it better than I expected. As a background, I had eating disorder for many years and I always struggled with body image even though I'm not heavy for my height. If wanting a child in your life at this point is what you want, I would suggest focusing on that and to remind yourself that baby's growth is more important. I was quite relaxed with my pregnancy diet and ate almost everything. I did a vague calorie count but it was to make sure I consume sufficient calories for each trimester. Vague because I just did mental calculations and decided not to record all the calories (cause I know it can become an unhealthy obsession for me). I might have gained slightly less if I watched my diet but I didn't want to be too strict because I know I will struggle with rebound if I am too restrictive. I gained about 11.8kg from 48-49kg pre preg and lost 8-9kg within the first month. What probably helped me was I exercised all the way till the day I popped. I was active pre preg, and I was doing exercises I am familiar with. I had to remind myself not to go overboard too. I watched for any discomfort and I stopped when I was too tired or breathless. I also recaliberated the intensity of each exercise. By late third tri I switched to doing yoga exclusively since it was too tiring to do anything else and circuit breaker meant that pools were closed too. Do check with your doctor on embarking on any fitness regime. As for the bump, I was quite self conscious about it but partly because I didn't want people to give unsolicited advice on pregnancy. For first time mums, bumps may be smaller. Mine didn't quite show until 3rd tri and even then I could get away with wearing certain clothing that were more flattering. You can try putting on different outfits to see what works best for your changing body. If exercise is not your thing, try not to start too intensive a routine. Even taking walks or slow swim is helpful. Binding AFTER childbirth may help with the recovery, some mums also swear by post partum massages (I couldn't have cause it was still phase 1 post circuit breaker and they were not opened yet). I have not regretted having my baby and I love her so much. At 10 weeks pp I've still not lost the last 2-3kg and I'm still having soft tummy but somehow it's not bothering me as much as I imagined. Mother's love for her child can overcome many struggles. Hang in there, you can do it!