She seems to have doubled in size in such a short time. And when I say she – I mean both me and the baby, haha. Or have I just not noticed? All of a sudden, this bump seems to reach above my navel now.

I feel huge and heavy, but not in a bad way. I’m constantly amazed at what my body has been able to do these past few months. Like, there is an actual person growing in there and being nourished daily. There’s something empowering about it. I know a lot of people say it’s better to be pregnant at a younger age because you have more energy then – and well, there is truth to that. But I think I’m happy to be going through it now that I’m older and (hopefully) wiser and more at peace with myself, more confident in my decision-making.

There’s three years in between these photos. That’s a lot of growth, experience, and mental health work that went on during that period. Truth is, I actually love both of these bodies. I’m not looking at the left photo sighing, although I feel like an idiot remembering that I thought I was overweight then.

I accept the person I was then and the person I am now. The left version of me was doing necessary repairs and healing. The right version of me is growing and thriving. Both bodies are strong, capable and beautiful in their own ways.

One of the reasons I’m trying to be kinder to and more accepting of myself is because I also want my kid to have a healthy body image. I don’t want her to learn terrible self-image from me. Society already hammers those messages on girls enough as it is. I hope I can keep that crap from infecting her, but I have to walk that talk first.

24 weeks and feeling great. Maybe I’ll revisit this when I reach third trimester and eat my words.