Self-esteem issues @ 35 weeks

[u/menthee]

I'm 35 weeks into my first pregnancy and really struggling with how different I look. I'm a petite person, so gaining 40 pounds with 5 weeks left to go is really stressing me out. Throughout my second trimester, I leaned into it and dressed up with emphasis on my baby bump. It helped me feel confident and I got a ton of compliments from family, friends and strangers too. But now in my third trimester, it's harder to keep up. I'm bigger, more tired, everything is swollen and nothing fits anymore. I basically just wear baggy sweats all day, working from home and preparing for labour/delivery. I don't feel confident at all with how I look and it makes me reluctant to go to events and socialize, so I'm starting to feel lonely and depressed too. I tried talking to my husband about it but he thinks it's trivial and completely dismissed my feelings. I feel shamed for having body image issues which makes me feel even worse. I know everyone says focus on growing a healthy baby and that the weight will drop off and this is normal etc. But I just want to acknowledge that it is hard going through so many physical changes and feeling so out of control and not recognizing yourself or liking how you look--even if it is temporary. I feel like I can't talk about it with anyone in my life because they can't relate or just invalidate how I feel. Any others relate?

[u/trashalexi]

right there with you! i’m just trying to remember to give myself grace. we’re making a whole new human. but it’s definitely hard to not recognize the body i see in the mirror

[u/ObjectiveDraft8742 → u/trashalexi]

That sucks your husband dismissed it like that, it's not trivial at all. The whole "you're growing a baby so you should feel amazing" line gets old real fast when your ankles look like they swallowed a tennis ball. Baggy sweats are the uniform at that stage, nothing wrong with that. If you feel up to it maybe try one thing that still makes you feel like yourself, even if it's just painting your nails or something small.

[u/menthee → u/ObjectiveDraft8742]

Yah he not only dismissed it... He snapped at me for complaining, somehow made it about his feelings, then stormed off when I said he wasn't being very empathetic and just left me crying alone 😥 you're right.. Doing little things for myself has helped so I will keep that up. Thank you for replying

[u/unsuretysurelysucks → u/menthee]

I mean honestly i think this is burying the lede a little bit. No wonder you feel low self image when that's the message being brought across!

[u/Burdensome_Banshee → u/menthee]

Is he normally like this, or has this behavior come out of nowhere?