THE BABY BUMP

Coral, from Philadelphia, PA, is a wife, mother and content creator (@curlswithcoral).The first mama featured on our yearlong virtual road trip, Coral has built a brand and community around embracing her natural hair. Expecting her second child in May 2021, Coral has also embraced the – sometimes bumpy – journey of motherhood.

Whew, pregnancy the second time around has been A LOT mentality. I shared a little about my mom guilt with my first born @curlswithcoral, but there’s also physical change that come with growing a second human being.

This time around, I started showing MUCH sooner. I legit had a baby bump by like 8 weeks. It’s like my body knew exactly what to do and was working hard from the start, and with that came a lot of comments about my appearance.

“You look huge already.”

“Are you sure it’s just one?”

“Your face is swollen already.”

I’ve gotten used to people sharing their thoughts with me about pregnancy, motherhood and such... that just comes with being a mom. EVERYONE has an opinion.

I'VE GOTTEN USED TO PEOPLE SHARING THEIR THOUGHTS WITH ME ABOUT PREGNANCY, MOTHERHOOD, AND SUCH...

I do realize most people are just trying to make small talk most of the time. I just wish we could use those words to uplift instead of commenting about someone’s appearance. Instead, we could say things like:

“You are so strong!”

“You are killing this whole pregnancy thing!”

“You are going to be a great mom!”

You’d be surprised at how many moms-to-be need words of encouragement. Hormones are at an all-time high, and not everyone feels their best while pregnant. Your words of encouragement might change someone’s perspective and the way they feel about themselves.

So if you’re a soon-to-be mom reading this, I want you to know:

YOU LOOK INCREDIBLE.

Your body looks amazing doing one of the most magical things this world has to offer. You are helping to create LIFE. Your body is expanding to prepare a loving and nurturing home for the most precious gift life can give us. You might not feel the prettiest or the sexiest right now. But just know what you are carrying inside of you goes beyond this world’s body expectations. What you carry inside you is the future generation – and that’s special.

Follow Coral’s journey @curlswithcoral

Read more about Coral and her LIFE & COLOR here.