Adventures with a Belly!

No, I'm not pregnant again! I'll just say that upfront right now! I am not pregnant again and we are not trying to get pregnant again for a few more years. So there! However, I have 1,2,3...7? I think 7 friends who are either: pregnant, just had a baby, or are trying to get pregnant. So, this makes me think back to being pregnant and some of my experiences. This is for my friends, who are pregnant, recently became moms, and who are trying to get pregnant.

Pregnancy bellies are so cute, and round, and touchable right? WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! They are cute, and round, and so NOT for everyone to touch! That's something that just happens as soon as you have a cute round belly. Everyone wants to rub it, touch it, pat it...etc. They all want to touch. Some people wait for an invitation or ask. THANK YOU to all those wonderfully polite people who ask or wait for an invitation, implied or spoken, before touching. It's just very rude otherwise! I used to work for an insurance company and all of the people I worked with were very nice and it was never uncomfortable for them to come and say hello to me and say hi to the baby by way of a small rub or a "hello" directed at my stomach. There were some other people who worked in the building who didn't get the 'no touch' memo. I once had a lady come up to me right after she came out of the bathroom, stick her hands on my massively large baby bump, and then say hello to me. I'd never met her before in my life! I still don't know her name.

I now have a way to deal with the uninvited tummy touchers, and I think I'll share. I don't remember what book I got this advice from, but the advice was to stick your hand on their stomach and talk to them as soon as they do it to you. That way they get the same intrusion that you do. I wish I had had the chance to use it! It would have been so gratifying.

I gained a lot of weight while I was pregnant. Mind you, I had an almost 9 lbs baby, but I still gained darn near 70 lbs. I'm 5'3" and wasn't thin as a rail when I got pregnant. So, 70 lbs was pretty awful and I had a huge, massive, pregnant belly. I looked like you could stick me with a pin and the baby would just pop right out. I have the pictures, and the stretch marks, to prove it. However, just because a pregnant woman has a rather large belly does not give anyone the right to come up and say: "Are you SURE you're not having twins?", "Wow! You've gained a ton of weight!", "You've just...um...expanded haven't you?", and my personal favorite "OMG! You're HUGE!" ..... yeah...don't ever say that. Ever. I always wanted to say, "Yeah, I'm pregnant and I've gained weight. What's your excuse?" But I never did.

I want to send a huge, huge, thank you out to one of my coworkers who never failed to say, "Oh, you look So beautiful!" every single time I saw her. She always made me feel beautiful and very proud of my baby belly. So, if you know someone who is pregnant, who just had a baby, or who wants to get pregnant tell them they are beautiful. Because they are, inside and out.