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As well as having the pleasure of our bump pics being posted at Marvelous Kiddo yesterday, this morning I woke bleary eyed to the computer and found they had also made it to another one of my all time favourite blogs, A Cup of Jo. Joanna is pregnant with her first bub and was debating whether or not to wear a bikini, and was inspired by last weeks bump shots. (By the way – Joanna would look super-gorgeous rocking her belly in a little bikini!)

The truth is, although I'm happy with what nature gave me, one of those things was not a flat stomach. When I was a bit younger it was something I was a tad self-conscious about. Without sounding conceited, I've never felt happier with my body than I do now, and I feel the best when I'm at the beach in the water. I'm now managing to swim 20 laps!! (And taking every opportunity to boast about it!) More importantly though, because of this little cherub growing inside me I don't really care what my body looks like afterwards, and hopefully next summer I'll be rocking my bikini proudly with the extra stretchy saggy bits.

Thank you to Joanna and Leigh for putting the bump up, and thank you to everyone that left lovely comments as well as supportive messages about our planned homebirth. One of the great comments I read on Joanna's blog was about a Brazilian actress called Leila Diniz, who in the 60's during a time of repression shocked the entire country by showing her baby belly in a bikini. Apparently she was considered vulgar by women of her time, but I think she looks beautiful and so calm in this image, which became a symbol of feminine revolution in Brazil.