22 weeks
“Do not try to give your children all that you did not have and then forget to give them all that you did have.”
~ in an email from a friend
My belly button is looking pretty shallow these days. Perhaps more frightening to me than an array of stretch marks is the thought of having an “outie”. Ugh.
Woke up this morning feeling really loosey-goosey. My knees, ankles, shoulders, and even the soles of my feet feel stretched out of shape. All of the ligaments in the body loosen and stretch during pregnancy. This is why many women can go up almost a full shoe size and it’s extra important not to overstretch during yoga or exercise. Still, I had no idea I’d be feeling like Gumby on a hot summer day.
My fingers and feet are like fat over-stuffed sausages in the mornings too. After a walk with the dogs on a hot day, Brandon looked down and laughed, “Wow! I never thought I’d say this, but you almost have cankles!”
I’m feeling big and swollen and over-stuffed. How lovely.
Last week, when I was walking from the parking garage to meet Brandon at our prenatal appointment, some guy leaned out of his car and whistled at me. I was wearing one of my non-maternity t-shirts (aka: tight-fitting and looking extremely round) and yoga pants. I told Brandon and he said, “Oh ye-ah! Whistling at my hot pregnant wife! Sweeet.” I don’t get the appeal of pregnant married women being extra attractive. Is it the ultimate wanting of something you most definitely can’t have?
How’s the baby doing? According to online estimates, he’s now a full pound and about eight inches long. Sense of touch is developing, as is light and dark differentiation. Hair and eyelashes are growing too! I can’t wait to meet him when he’s finally ready to come out.
Oh, and I now have to tie my bathrobe on top of my belly instead of around it. Hee.
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photo: Big box of baby boy blues from Brandon’s mom. Yay!
May 14th, 2010 at 4:20 pm
Whether you think you’re big, swollen, have cankles, I don’t think any of those things can trump that you’re beautiful and the guy whistling at you proves it :P
May 14th, 2010 at 6:00 pm
A random guy whistling at a woman does not “prove” she is beautiful. How twisted is that? All it proves is that the man is immature and probably thinks way too highly of himself.
May 14th, 2010 at 7:46 pm
thanks, col. ; )
sarah – i’m the one worrying about having an outie and cankles. who’s immature and thinks too highly of themselves??
May 14th, 2010 at 8:33 pm
uhh….still the man
May 14th, 2010 at 8:49 pm
my point was that i hate it when men do that, and i hate it when women think it somehow validates their worth/beauty. It was a general statement about incidents like that. I didn’t mean you aren’t beautiful…cankles and all.
May 15th, 2010 at 12:59 am
Wow, let’s not blow things out of proportion Sarah. I was just trying to say something nice to Jen since it sounds like she was feeling a little down about her changing body while also saying that other people think she looks great too.
May 15th, 2010 at 5:36 am
thanks for the lesson, sarah. i love it when you point out the obvious.
and i understood what you meant, col. even for the most confident of us, a random stranger can do a lot to reduce the over-stuffed-sausage factor on certain days. ; )
May 15th, 2010 at 11:44 am
cankles…huh…I learned something new today!
May 15th, 2010 at 12:34 pm
col: I wasn’t blowing anything out of proportion, just making a comment.
Jen: Take a pill.
May 17th, 2010 at 12:58 am
I remember not liking my bellybutton and being afraid it would never look “normal” again. It even turned brownish in color, like it was dirty. Well, it’s back to normal and no longer looks dirty. As for stretch marks, well, I used the Mustela cream and I have no stretch marks, seriously! I know they say it is genetic, but I have no mom to ask. So, I used the Mustela and lucked out with that or genes?! I’ll never know.
Also, I finally had to break down and buy compression socks at around 6.5 months. They reminded me of some of my patients and getting old…Nothing sexy about a big “dirty” belly button and compression socks. But, my complexion and hair were never better!