‘I feel bad for your husband, you’ve gained SO much weight!’: Mom of 5 urges ‘weight does not reflect worth’

“I feel so bad for your husband, you’ve gained SO much weight.’ ‘And you’re only halfway there, your poor husband.’ ‘I see that baby weight…’

Last week after posting a photo of our family at Mya’s birthday pool party, I started receiving comments and messages all centered around my ‘baby weight,’ how much weight I’ve gained or how quickly I’ve gained it.

I’m not going to lie, I noticed it when I looked at the picture we had taken and a small part of me was self conscious, but there was a larger portion of me that was grateful, so I shared it anyway, unedited to reflect my body as it is.

I have maternity pictures with all my children, except Jaxden. I threw them away after looking at them, because I hated my body. It’s one of my biggest regrets. I took a moment where my body was housing human life, and I threw away every memory I would have of it because of how the miracle growing on the inside, made my body look on the outside.

Pregnancy is hard, living in a body that can often feel as if it’s not even your own is difficult, but carrying children is a miracle. As each piece of them grows safely within you, each muscle, artery, vein, skin cell, organ, and more, builds perfectly to be the child you’ll bring into the world. Each picture we take reflects those things and yet all we see is weight gain and how our body has changed.

Your body is beautiful. Weight does not reflect value or worth. Our bodies will forever be a reflection of the lives we’ve lived, what we’ve experienced and what they’ve done for us.”

This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Chelsie Dort of Utah. You can follow her family’s journey on Instagram and her blog. Submit your own story here, and be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.

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