Many women anticipate the arrival of their first child and love to rock their baby bump proudly. For Lara Carpenter-Beck, things were not exactly what she had expected, though.
Lara had such a massive baby bump that when she was 12 weeks pregnant, people were already asking if her due date was near.
She expected that she might gain more weight than normal during her pregnancy, but she was also shocked at how much weight she gained.
In fact, when she was 32 weeks pregnant, she was told by nurses that her baby was almost the weight of a full-term baby. Carrying around all that weight was a struggle, she said.
By the time she was 36 weeks pregnant, her belly was already measuring 55 inches in circumference. She had gained 91 pounds. It was around this time that her water broke.
Baby Savannah weighed 9lb 5oz at the time of her birth, but the mom was simply relieved that her child was born healthy despite being slightly heavier than most average babies.
Lara had another hurdle to face - losing all the extra weight. The mom got to work and she began to lead a healthier lifestyle to get back to a safer weight.
Despite the pregnancy struggles and weight gain, Lara did not have any regrets. In fact, she looked forward to having her baby as she felt it was all worth it.
