“I have 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.”
Have any nerves set in? Honestly, it’s funny—I feel pretty calm about everything. I just hope that I can be half as good a mom as my mom is, ’cause I’ve had an amazing example.
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 and you’re going to figure it out. 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? Are you going to be three weeks over and just miserable in 100 degrees? Since I’m such a planner, that has been a challenge for me, to relinquish that and know that I’m not going to know.
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 a little extra. 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.
Kimber’s Pregnancy Must-Haves
“Obviously you can’t get any fillers or injectables, so I’ve been doing a lot of research on things that you can do that are still good for the skin and age preventative. I love Eminence bamboo firming fluid. It smells so good. I put that on morning and night.
My skin has been a little extra dry, especially my lips, so there’s this Hourglass lip oil that I love. It’s very soothing.
There’s an organic line called FarmHouse Fresh based out of McKinney. They have this Whoopie! Cream Shea Butter that I’ve been using a lot, ’cause for a while my lotion was making me nauseated, but this scent is really good. It’s light, but it’s still fragrant.
Since my skin has been extra dry, I’ve also been doing different oils. I got almond oil from Whole Foods, especially putting that on my stomach, because that’s what the French women do supposedly to help with stretch marks.
There’s this Moroccanoil body oil that I’ve been using, and it has little flecks of sparkles in it. I use the hair oil too. And Davines has this OI hair oil and hair milk—it’s like a spray you put on. I am loving that.
All the prenatal vitamin pills are so big, so I got a Vitafusion gummy. It’s really good. I’m trying to be mindful that I’m not eating a ton of sugar, so that’s like a treat.
I have these UGG leopard print slippers that I’ve been wearing all the time. They’re so comfy and warm. That’s my uniform when I get home—sweatpants and those. And then I have one of those Barefoot Dreams blankets. I’ve been sleeping with that, and I watch TV with it.
I went to Verbena Parlor & Social House last week and got a pedicure. All of their products are nontoxic; it was just very clean. And they have lattes—with your pedicure or your manicure, a latte comes with it. So that’s gonna be my go-to.
You’re getting bigger, and your body’s changing, so I’ve been working out for sure. I’ve still been doing One Lagree. It’s kind of like Pilates. And then I teach kickbox at Equinox.”
Editor’s note: Since our interview, Bridget “Birdie” arrived healthy on Aug. 26. Congratulations to Mom and Dad!
Photo courtesy of Kimber Westphall.
