You’re pregnant and you’re going to gain weight. Get used to it. Your doctor will keep tabs on your weight gain to make sure it’s not excessive, but it’s essential that you gain at least some weight during pregnancy. You and your baby need it! So instead of bemoaning your growing waistline, spend your energy learning to appreciate it. You know, it’s really only the last little bit of human history that we’ve had a love affair with flat stomachs and protruding hipbones. Honestly, round is much sexier than bony, and you have never been more beautiful than you are right now.

Of course, it’s hard to overcome the strong cultural influences that have preprogrammed us to think thin is beautiful. If you’re having trouble feeling beautiful right now, that’s okay. Just remember that what you’re feeling has a lot more to do with good marketing by the fashion industry than with the true meaning of beauty.