3 months to go

One woman in the office has been boosting my ego daily now that I am pregnant. She constantly tells me how skinny, hip, good I look even in my "condition". Being a mother herself, she will laugh and say "enjoy it now" because I guess after the baby arrives, it will be sweatpants and ponytails for me. Personally, I think that my stomach has a really odd shape and my butt doesn't fill out any of my maternity pants, so I feel pointy-stomached and saggy-bottomed most days, hitching up my pants while I huff up and down the hallways of my office. I do love the compliments, though.

I had no idea how my body would change upon becoming pregnant. I was certain my thick-boned German/Norwegian stock would dominate the process. I expected my love handles to form a life-preserver around my waist. I expected a double-chin and a thick neck. Cellulite, stretch marks. Believe me, it hasn't been the most beautiful of transformations, but it also hasn't been as bad as I imagined. I feel out of breath after taking a few short steps, my thighs rub together uncomfortably, my stomach gets in the way of tying my shoes, my larger breasts are overshadowed by my weirdly-shaped tummy. But I can't complain too much. I haven't put on a lot of weight yet, which is what I was most worried about. I didn't want to gain too much too soon. I know the baby starts growing more towards the end so I'll probably make up for it then. I haven't experienced the lustrous locks or fast-growing fingernails that a lot of people told me would be a pregnancy perk, and I don't think I "glow" either. I feel like I need a facial badly. And I don't exercise anymore. I can't see my vagina, so have stopped getting it waxed. People still do not give up their seat on the subway, even though my back hurts when I stand for a while. I burp all the time. I haven't had any spotting or serious cramping or anything else that would be of concern. But my nose might start to bleed. Pros and cons, the entire process.

So if through it all, I am able to maintain a look that doesn't scream "MATERNITY", I will consider that a plus, in a sea of other negatives. The only advice I have for anyone who is pregnant with their first child is to expect the unexpected, because nothing is the way I thought it would be. And as much as this blog may be a very self-centered way of talking all about me, me, me, I want to record it all, to have a diary of the way things were before I had a new bunch of complaints about potty-training and sleepless nights. Hopefully I just won't be in sweatpants and a ponytail while typing those entries.