The belly.

I gotta be honest… the pregnant belly is something else. It’s the universal sign of motherhood, excitement, and misery that results in one of the most beautiful miracles the Lord has our bodies encounter. You either look at a pregnant woman and go, “awww” or “poor thing”, but either way, you have respect and joy for that person’s journey as a new or experienced parent.

When you first find out you’re pregnant you’re thinking, “I don’t want my belly to be the size of a watermelon!” But, oooooh, how the grass is always greener. After 6.5 months, I was pretty sad I wasn’t really showing. I mean, I could tell I had a baby, my husband and close friends could tell (sorta). I could completely and easily hide the fact I was pregnant (if I had wanted to), until I was well into 7 months.  I got weird looks when I couldn’t make it up a flight of stairs. I mean, afterall, I look like I’m in good shape, why couldn’t I just jump that flight of stairs? Sometimes I would even forget I was pregnant and run myself in the ground with exhaustion. I feel that growing belly is there to remind you that you are FLIPPIN’ MAKING A PERSON INSIDE YOU. Well, I wanted to be reminded more… obviously.

I was jealous of those round little bellies popping up on mommies around me, even those that were months behind me. Complete strangers were excited for them, asking them questions and I’m just sitting there whispering to Layla, “Come on, woman! Give me SOMETHING!” But how she is growing, she is perfectly fine and I’ve loved still feeling and knowing she is there, even if others don’t.

I didn’t take weekly or monthly pictures. I know, I know… “I’ll regret it later.” Well, I can promise you, there was nothing to show until recently. But I did manage to take a shot at month 1 and towards the beginning of month 9. They are quick snapshots and I wore the same clothes in both shots. (Will I regret my choice of outfit? Yes, but I don’t care. I wasn’t going for cute preggers. Mostly because I didn’t think I’d ever share these images.)

On left: April 6, 2012 – 1 month along.                                             On right: November 10, 2012 – 1 month left.

So, there you go. Pure… vulnerability. My only regret? not wearing my socks in the pic on the right. My feet were cold.
More updates to come including Layla’s room and random other things that I wonder if other new mommies think to themselves.