One of the fun parts of pregnancy is watching your figure round out and blossom into a beautiful, bountiful baby belly. Some women have a hard time watching their hourglass turn into a beach ball, but there is nothing more gorgeous than a pregnant woman’s body, in my opinion. There are lots of ways to track your growth and watching your progress can be a fun way to get your mind of more worrisome aspects of pregnancy.
One of the most popular ways to document your growing belly is through pictures. Taking a photo of your burgeoning profile each week is one of the simplest ways to record your progress. Try holding a card with the number of weeks of pregnancy written on it, or add the date with photo editing software.
Digits put a fun spin on things. Measuring your waist line with a tape measure each week will give you a unique look at how far you’re stretching out. It also allows you to hold the tape around your postpartum tummy and compare; you’ll be shocked once the memory of your 39 week belly fades and you hold that tape way out in front of you. Track your measurements in a spreadsheet or a chart you can paste into your scrapbook.
Create a belly cast. I have to admit my aversion to this idea the first time I read about it in a pregnancy magazine. I’ve since warmed up to the idea of plastering my pregnant belly and painting the cast. I may actually try it the next time around! I can always use it as a popcorn bowl if I don’t like it, right? (I’m joking!)
Cut a pretty ribbon to the length of your fullest waist measurement. Choose ribbon in pink or blue, to match the gender, or another color to match your nursery. You can pin the ribbon into a scrapbook, or tack it to the wall and clip pregnancy photos to it as a form of wall art.
It never ceases to amaze me how a woman’s body can stretch and adapt to carry a baby to full term. Even though I had nine months to get used to the idea, I still look at my son in disbelief when I think about how he fit snugly in my womb and thrived, and I’m still shocked that he actually made it out. Once he was born, I couldn’t wrap my mind around how he was able to fit! If I didn’t have the pictures and the tape measurements to prove it, I may begin to think it was all a dream! I wasn’t really that big, was I? Yes I was!
How did you react to the changes your body went through during pregnancy? How did you document your baby belly? When you look at your children, do you find it hard to believe they fit in your tummy at one time?