When a “Boy Mom” Has A Girl on the Way

Boston’s fave Insta-Mom gets personal.

Name: Anna Maria @anja_mari

Neighborhood: Southshore Boston

Occupation: Digital Marketing Communications

Children: 2 + 1 on the way

Gender: girl

How would you describe your pregnancy style?

Free, effortless and comfortable. I have never spent much time doing my hair or choosing corresponding wardrobe elements — that is just not me. I have always picked items that go with “my flow,” and I am trying to do the same during pregnancy. I don’t like putting labels on things, and I don’t like stereotypes but it seems like a pregnancy style has a little bit of an inflexible stereotype attached. Everyone has an idea of what a pregnant woman should look like or wear, as if there was some rigid structure to it, and that is something I am trying to escape from, play around and just not fully conform to.

What is one pregnancy ritual you’ve built into your routine?

Taking the time to really pamper my skin. This third pregnancy takes a toll on my skin, especially around my belly and hips, things tend to stretch a lot, and I feel like skin elasticity is sparse this time around. So I am using oils and special belly creams to really do what I can to save whatever is left (hahaha) — something I wasn’t the best at during my two other pregnancies.

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What’s your favorite pregnancy product that you cannot live without?

A good belly band, a good pregnancy undershirt (with these two, you can rework almost every pre-pregnancy outfit into a pregnancy outfit!). Also some decent compression stockings (tired legs at night will thank you!).

What will you miss most about being pregnant once the baby arrives?

I think the connection to another life, the feeling of being two in one, and the little moves in earlier weeks — from little “hellos” to well-defined and sometimes painful kicks (“oh hey you, stop stretching in there”). It is an unbelievable wonder of a female body, to be able to contain all this and create life within itself, it blows my mind every time, and I think the mystery of it all, will be always the magic and wonder I will miss the most.

What’s one piece of pregnancy advice every mama to be needs to know?

Don’t be scared of your body changing; it knows what it is doing. Trust your gut carrying the baby and then having the baby. Nobody has all the answers to motherhood — we all make them up as we go and do what is right for us. It has been designed this way for thousands of years, so you will be fine — just give into the process instead of trying to control it too much or worry yourself unnecessarily.

What are you looking forward to the most about having a baby girl?

Finally be able to peek into the other side of the baby section clothing! Girl section is always so much bigger (LOL!). But seriously, I am looking forward to learning more about myself through raising a little girl. I think it is a self-discovery of sorts… what I want her to know and remember, what kind of a woman I want to help her be, what kind of mistakes I think I have done and could help her avoid. I think that is the difference between having boys and girls: with a girl you get a little closer to understanding how your sex is wired, and figure it out better or at least more naturally.