Belly Casting

For my 34 week countdown surprise, my hubby bought me a belly casting kit. 

Available at Target

My hubby LOVES my preggo belly...much more than I do. My preconceived notion of a preggo belly was that I would feel oh so beautiful and "glowing" all of the time.

That has NOT been my experience. Instead, I just feel like a whale most of the time. Far from anything attractive. 

So...needless to say, I got a little hormonally emotional when I opened this sweet gift from hubby. 

I tried really hard not to cry, but I bawled. And hubby said we would return the kit. But I know how much he loves my belly and convinced myself to do the belly cast. I didn't wan to regret not doing later when I had had the opportunity. Plus, I knew hubby would love the keepsake. 

So we did the cast! And I'm SO GLAD we did!!! 

Honestly, if you are having ANY reservations about doing the cast because you feel fat and unattractive, doing the cast actually helped me feel LESS like that! 

After the cast was done and dried, I was able to look at the belly and see it as that...a PREGNANT belly. It looks pregnant like there is a baby growing in there! It doesn't look fat. 

It was actually a real eye opener for me. And will be a super precious keepsake for us! I'm planning to put it in Baby Christian's room as a decoration...at least for while he is a baby and doesn't think its weird :)

First, a few tips! Tips 2 and 3 are only necessary if you follow tip #1 ;) 

1) Stand if at all possible. You are supposed to get the best results if you stand, but it can also be done laying down. I chose to stand. 

2) Have something you can lean up against...a couch, chair, wall. Just make sure your plastic sheet covers whatever you lean on. 

3) Wear shoes. My feet were killing me by the time it was all done. Probably an hour total of standing in one still position. 

So here is the process... 

1) Lay out the giant plastic sheet and stand in the middle and get all of your supplies ready...bowl of warm water, cut the plaster strips, have a helper if possible.

2) Slick up your belly. Your kit should come with a tub of vaseline. Rub this ALL over your belly, bust, and any area you plan to include in the casting. I would recommend going a little higher, lower and to the sides with the vaseline than you actually plan to put the casting strips. We didn't do this and ouch! It kinda hurt taking it off those spots!

3) Have your helper (for me my hubby) dip the plaster strips in water and press and smooth them over your belly and bust area, if desired. You can make your ever growing boobs look much better by wearing a bra. I didn't do this, so I'm not sure what the results would be to your bra... 

4) Stand perfectly still and let the cast dry for 20 minutes. This was REALLY hard! And also when the couch behind me came in handy. There were a few wrinkles in the cast from me moving a little too much and also some extra space between my belly and the cast from my belly expanding when I would breath. No biggie really. Can't even notice. 

5) Carefully have your helper peel the cast off of you. This is where you learn if you put enough vaseline on...so don't be afraid to over do it in step 2! Better safe than sorry! Once the cast is off, set it belly up on a towel with another towel bunched up inside the belly and let it dry. 

6) Let the cast dry for 2 days...48 hours. Ta da! The cast is done! Now you can use the mesh piece that came with the kit to smooth out the cast and can also trip the edges and paint and decorate the cast if desired. I will hopefully eventually be painting mine baby blue! 

Again, soooo glad we did it! Don't be afraid! You won't have your baby in your belly forever and this is a great way to "freeze" the moment and the memory. 

Thanks for the sweet surprise, hubby! 

 

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