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Lessons Learned on My Pregnancy Over 40 Journey: Health is not linear
- Janelle Taveras
- Jan 9
- 2 min read
Hi everyone,
I wanted to take a moment today to share a few lessons I’m learning on this pregnancy over 40 journey. This is my third baby, and I can honestly say—it has been a humbling, eye-opening, and deeply meaningful experience.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is this: health is not linear. We go through seasons. Seasons where our health looks strong, seasons where it feels fragile, and seasons where our bodies are doing things we can’t fully control. Pregnancy is definitely one of those seasons.
At around 20 weeks, I didn’t look “fully pregnant,” but my body was clearly changing. I noticed the stares. The double takes. The looks from people trying to figure out what was going on with me physically. And it reminded me of something I learned a long time ago—thin does not mean healthy. And different does not mean unhealthy.
Health is not something you can always measure with the physical eye. We live in a world that is obsessed with appearance, with quick results, with visible outcomes. But pregnancy has taught me that sometimes we seek the wrong outcomes. Sometimes we’re chasing a look instead of a lifestyle, or an image instead of alignment.
In this season, I’m learning to seek:
Self-control instead of perfection
Consistency instead of intensity
Movement, not punishment
Joy, not comparison
And rest without guilt
Even if the world might look at my changing body and assume it doesn’t fit their definition of “healthy,” I know the truth: I am managing a miracle. My body is creating life. My body is sustaining life. And that is not weakness—that is strength.
I am deeply thankful for the blessing of becoming a mom again. I don’t take this lightly. I don’t take this season for granted. I am committed to stewarding this body and this miracle to the best of my ability—with wisdom, with grace, and with patience.
The Bible defines health differently than culture does. True health is wholeness—spirit, soul, and body.
As 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24 says:
“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”
That scripture grounds me. It reminds me that God cares about all of me, not just what people can see. And I trust that He will guide me in this new journey of health and fitness during pregnancy—step by step, season by season.
So if you’re watching this and you’re in a season where your health looks different… where your body is changing… where progress feels slow… I want you to know: you are not failing. You are evolving. And sometimes, that evolution looks like rest. Sometimes it looks like growth. And sometimes, it looks like carrying a miracle.
Thank you for walking this journey with me.
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