Mom-To-Be

Mom-To-Be: Kimber Westphall Clonts

Ihave just felt so, so happy,” Kimber Westphall Clonts beams. “The amount of joy I felt when we found out we were pregnant surpassed what I even anticipated I would feel.” With debilitating morning sickness now under control, Westphall Clonts is riding that joyful high into her second trimester. The Dallas PR maven, fitness instructor, writer and consummate planner has started tackling her before-baby checklist, embracing her pregnancy body and teasing out the logistics of the family’s

“new normal” with husband James. “I feel like our marriage is already very rich and blessed, and this is really going to be the cherry on top.”

WHAT ARE YOU MOST

LOOKING FORWARD TO? The thing that I keep envisioning is just my husband, me and the baby walking to get ice cream in the evening, or in the mornings getting up and taking the baby in the stroller—having very simple moments of gentle joy. I won’t be able to just hop in the car with my yoga mat and go to a class on a whim, but I’m totally happy with that change.

YOU HAVE SO MUCH GOING ON. DO YOU PLAN TO SLOW DOWN AFTER YOU HAVE THE

BABY? I definitely want to still be working. My PR firm is so important to me, my workouts are important to me (hopefully I’m teaching a class the day before I deliver the baby) and of course my writing, and all of that really makes up the fabric of what makes me, me. So I definitely want to keep doing that; I just know that we’ll have to find a new normal. I might not be able to get up at 3am for a TV segment like I have before.

WHAT’S THE BEST ADVICE

YOU’VE GOTTEN? The idea of being patient and knowing that you’re not going to be a perfect mom right away. The good thing to remember is the pure intent, that you love the child and you are doing your best. There’s going to be meltdowns, there’s going to be episodes of tears, there’s going to be moments of frustration, but in the end, it’s all going to be OK because you’re doing your best.

HAVE Y’ALL FOUND OUT THE

GENDER YET? We’re going to be surprised.

THAT’S UNUSUAL THESE DAYS! WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO

GO TEAM GREEN? I was having lunch with [a friend] even before we were thinking about becoming pregnant, and she was like, “You know, not finding out, having that moment in the delivery room with just you and your husband, it’s so special, and it’s literally one of life’s last surprises.” So I thought, Why not? And regardless of when you find out, it’s still a surprise, but we wanted to have that moment just with the two of us.

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU’RE

SCARED ABOUT? I’m definitely nervous about the actual delivery. There’s just so many unknowns. Are you going to have to have a C-section? Are you going to be induced? Since I’m such a planner, that has been a challenge for me.

HAVE YOU STILL FELT REALLY CONFIDENT IN YOUR BODY, OR HAS THE CHANGE OF PREGNANCY BOTHERED YOU?

It has bothered me. I feel like I’ve gotten a little too comfortable with the eating, and I’ve been splurging. I had kind of a breakdown moment in the doctor’s office last week because they weighed me, and I’m like, “Oh my gosh, I did not think I weighed that much.” So that did—I’m going to be very honest—that really did bother me. But then everyone was reassuring me. They’re like, “Your only job right now is to grow a healthy, safe baby.” And I’m just trying to think of it as like, OK, I’m literally nourishing this tiny human who’s growing inside of me. I’m realizing that—it’s not about me, it’s about the health of the baby. ●

Editor’s note: Bridget “Birdie” arrived healthy on Aug. 26. Congratulations to Mom and Dad!