Pregnancy & Social Media.

{some of my very favorite rockstar moms}

It has been far too long since I've really sat down and written something.  San Francisco has been good for me in a lot of ways, but blogging is not one of them.  I've slacked basically ever since I set foot in the city, so forgive me if I'm a little rusty with my words.

I have had something on my mind for a little while though & a conversation I had with someone recently sparked my fire once again on it, so I thought I may as well get it all out on paper errr the blogging-sphere.  Pregnant women and social media.  I'm not blogging about the two as separate issues.  I'm talking about the two together.  For whatever reason, over the past few years I have heard so many people rant about how it's "so annoying" how so&so posts pictures of her belly every week, and how "no one cares."  The first few times I heard these comments, it pretty much went in one ear and out the other.  I didn't think much of it.  After some time though, it seemed to be a common trend I noticed.  So many people - of all ages & genders - would make remarks about how irrelevant these pregnancy pictures {i.e. ultrasounds, belly shots, swollen ankles, trips to the doctor, yada yada…you've seen 'em, you get it} were.  Of course they didn't use the word irrelevant.  Their vocabulary choice was even more negative than that.

To be honest, I didn't have an opinion about this issue at all until a few years ago.  I suppose that's because I didn't know many people getting pregnant.  However, it seems that nearly all my friends/acquaintances are in one way or another connected with the miracle of giving birth to a child these days & so these kinds of comments are a bit more prevalent.

I don't know any way more eloquent to express my opinion on this topic other than this {remember?  it's been a while since I last wrote something of importance, so cut me some slack}: How is a picture of a woman, with another life in her stomach, any less relevant than what you ate for lunch this afternoon?  How is a picture of two little someones about to bear the title of "mother" and "child" any less important than that exhausting hike you just took across the flipping grand canyon?  Don't read this the wrong way.  My husband is the king of posting his meals {the greasier and fattier, the better --- according to him} and I follow at a close second.  I generally post pictures of meaningless, but cool buildings, landmarks, shoes, projects, and all other things ridiculous and pointless.  However, I'm also not about to go bashing on a woman because she's only 6 weeks away from one of the most special days of her life… and heck, she wants to tell a few people about it.

Isn't social media supposedly a way for us to connect to one another's lives?  I appreciate seeing a picture of you and your BFF's at your Ugly Christmas Sweater {yep…it's now a proper noun} party just as much as the next guy.  Really, I do.  I'll even 'like' it & I'll probably wish I would've been there!  But I also think it's pretty awesome that someone has been carrying another human in their belly for the past 4 months and is willing to share that joy with everyone else.  Let them do their thing for crying out loud!  They deserve to be able to post whatever the heck they want, because while we're sitting here instagram'ing our Throwback Thursday glory day pictures, they're growing a human.   And quite honestly…there aren't many things greater than seeing one of your best friends about to become a mom for the first time, or seeing one of your EFY participants announce that she's pregnant.

As someone who's not yet a mother, I don't know the intention behind every pregnant "selfie."  But who says there has to be one?  Why can't it simply be a photograph that's celebrating the miracle of a little innocent life in there?  If there's any "selfie" out there that ought to be socially acceptable, it better darn well be a woman with her child.  While discussing this with my cousin, we agreed that to have photos of our mom's carrying us in their bellies would be gold to us.  I look at the pictures above, and I just know that their littles will one day cherish those very first "mommy & me" pictures.  Pictures that exude pure happiness.  I remember the first time I found a picture of my mom when she was pregnant with me.  My "stylish" mother with her bangs in a poof and a totally awesome MASSIVE sweater, with a round little ball of me.  That's something that deserves respect, not judgment.  Now, instagram and Facebook weren't around back then, but I'd put money on the fact that the photo was printed in doubles more than once and sent to her friends and family.  It's a blessing these days that those memories can be shared with loved ones so quickly and an even bigger blessing that one day, my kids will be able to have quality photos from when it was just "us" every day.

Maybe it's just a trendy thing for people to complain about, who knows?  Those little apps that have been running around instagram these past few weeks with your five most liked pictures of the year sure would say so.  Every girl I know who has given birth this past year would likely tell you that her top 5 "liked" pictures had 100% to do with pregnancy/their little guy or gal.  So either there are a lot more lovers than haters {in which case I applaud you} or the haters are hypocritical in-the-closet lovers who just like to say what they think everyone wants to hear.  I have no idea.  What I do know though is that these moms-to-be can post their little hearts away and I won't pass judgment.  They're rockstars in my book & I think it's unfair for any of them to feel that they may be judged for posting what is essentially about to be their entire world.  So mom's… if you want to post your exciting & exhausting pictures of pregnancy, we'll rally behind you and cheer you on.  And, if that's not your thing… it's not your thing.  No one has to do things a certain way.  You don't have to post the pictures.  But you also shouldn't be judged if you want to share your documentation with everyone else.

Until another controversial topic comes up… this is me, signing off and stepping off my soapbox for the next little while.  ;)