In Your Words: What Children Can Teach Us About Healthy Body Image

There's no doubt that the body changes of pregnancy and motherhood can lead to a lot of insecurities. But we also talked to women who found that the process of becoming a mother helped to give them a whole new positive perspective on their bodies.

"A really healing thing has happened with my daughter. When I see her--I call her naked baby because she loves being naked--it's amazing to see her body. She's growing into my body shape. I love it so much in her. It's just making me accept it more in me."
--Lisa, 35, quoted in Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat?

How about you? Have you had a moment of body image wisdom as a mom or mom-to-be?

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Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat? Reviews

The latest buzz about Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat? The Essential Guide to Loving Your Body Before and After Baby...

One of the Top 6 Parenting Books for Moms—SHE KNOWS

“A lighthearted guide to combating a silent societal epidemic...[T]he authors do a great service in bringing to light a fear that women may believe they suffer with alone...The concepts and solidarity offered here should prove valuable for millions of American women.”—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

"...a good read that pregnant women will find comforting as they watch their bodies change."—LIBRARY JOURNAL

“It's never good to want to resist the changes your body is putting you through [during pregnancy]. But the fact is, a lot of us do. I'm excited to say that two women are taking on this issue in this book, to capture the many different ways we women go through, and what it makes us think and feel about out bodies. I haven't met a single woman yet who didn't have something to say about this.”—Stacy Morrison, Editor-In-Chief, REDBOOK

“Aside from offering great tips on dealing with hormones, breastfeeding, and those offhand comments from strangers, this book helps to remind me that NOW is the time to be grateful, not hateful, of my body.”—WORKOUT MOMMY

“I think I just found my favorite baby shower gift.”—THE GREAT FITNESS EXPERIMENT

“DOES THIS PREGNANCY MAKE ME LOOK FAT is full of fun and insightful anecdotes from real women talking about their changing feelings, and very helpful steps women can take to make their pregnancy experience a positive one.”—THE GIRL REVOLUTION

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Upcoming Reading: 12/3 at Village Books in Pacific Palisades

Calling all LA dwellers: Magali will be reading from Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat? and signing books this Thursday, December 3rd from 7:30-9 p.m. at Village Books. Come by and say hello. Hope to see you there!

Thank Your Body This Thanksgiving

The holiday season can be stressful. It's also a time when many women find themselves caught up in a cycle of body bashing--I ate too much, this meal is going straight to my thighs, I'm putting myself on a serious diet when the new year rolls around...

All that negative body talk takes its toll. So this Thanksgiving, take a moment to stop the self-criticism and thank your body.

Healthy Beauty Tip
Write a letter to your body. Yep, pick up a pen and write down all the reasons you are thankful for the body you have, not the body you wish you could have. For inspiration, listen to other women read their letters and get tips from self-esteem expert Jess Weiner.


Magali's Thanksgiving Moment
"I remember my first shower in my own bathroom after I came home from the hospital with my daughter. I looked down at my body in awe. For the first time, I saw it as an incredible machine, and I realized what an astoundingly complex mystery it was to me. I thought of all those years of abuse I had put it through and how resilient it had been. What my body had accomplished was a miracle and I was proud of it. I said 'Thank you' out loud."
--excerpted from Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat?

As always, we thank you for your support of our mission and for being an important part of the healthy beauty revolution! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

xo,
Claire & Magali

30% Off Beyond Yoga Online Purchases

One of the biggest body image dilemmas women encounter during pregnancy and after childbirth is the question of what to wear. No matter how excited you might be about the prospect of becoming a mom, outgrowing sizes can lead to a lot of appearance-related insecurity. It's not always easy to find affordable maternity wear and "transition" pieces, not to mention that saying good-bye to certain go-to wardrobe items can be an emotionally draining process.

Mourning the loss of too-small-to-squeeze-into-'em pieces and obsessing over "getting your body back" when everything else around you is moving forward can be a real drag. That's why we outlined our maternity and new mom style essentials in Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat? They are all based on letting go of the idea that something is wrong with you if you don't fit into your old clothes. It's those clothes that don't fit your new life.

In the spirit of celebrating all the style possibilities that exist if we can get beyond this unhealthy fixation with prebaby bodies, we've partnered with Beyond Yoga to offer 30% off all online purchases for our readers. Just enter the code PREGGY at checkout (sale and charity items do not apply). Shop online before November 30th!

Friday Roundup: News, Reviews, and Giveaways

This week you can find us in the New York Times, across the pond in the Daily Mail, and on a few other great websites and blogs. Here are all the latest links and book contests:

Blacktating (a blogger who was interviewed about breastfeeding and body image for our book) reviewed Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat? and is giving away a copy. Leave a comment to enter. The contest ends November 18th.

"Breast-feed the Baby, Love the Calorie Burn" [New York Times]. We weigh in about the "breastfeeding diet."

"The Baby Weight Obsession: Lose it Quickly and You're Selfish. Keep it On and You're a Failure" [Daily Mail]. A mom talks about her own struggles to achieve healthy body image in a culture obsessed with postbaby weight loss.

"Top 6 Parenting Books for Moms" [She Knows]. We're in good company!

"That's a Big Belly! Yeah, I'm Pregnant" [Tonic]. Love the opening line of this review: "Did pioneer women have this worry: 'Oh, no, I've just churned the butter, hoed the fields, given birth in between, but darn it, I can't fit into my skinny jeans!'"

"Trendwatch: How to Be 'Skinny Pregnant'" [The Great Fitness Experiment]. Blogger Charlotte Hilton Anderson takes on the media pressure to have the "perfect" pergnant body.

"A new book tackles body issues before, during, and after pregnancy" [Parents Ask]

"No Fat Talk During Pregnancy" [You'd Be So Pretty If]

"The Baby Weight Obsession: Lose it Quickly and You're Selfish. Keep it On and You're a Failure"

We're quoted in this Daily Mail article about the baby weight obsession. The piece is written by Sarah Hughes, a mom who worked to overcome her own body image issues.