Personal Growth

Was it me, or was the pre-Golden Globes red carpet coverage the most awkward thing ever aired on network television?  I get that it was raining and all (since they seemingly could talk about NOTHING ELSE), but Billy Bush looked downright FURIOUS every time they showed him, as if he were TOO BIG to be dealing with such things as RAIN and UMBRELLAS.  He kept huffing around, trying to scare up a big name star for an interview, and he had this crankypants look on his face the entire time (and what is WITH his face, anyway?  it looks...not right).  At one point he literally chased George Clooney -- he was RUNNING after GC -- and started peppering questions at George's back as George (rather sweetly, I thought) signed autographs and greeted fans and ignored Mr. Sourpuss.  Kind of hilarious, really.

So the other day, I went for the usual pee-in-a-cup/weigh-in/blood pressure/Doppler/any questions? check-up, and it was the first time I'd seen my own doctor (as opposed to the others in her practice) since October, before she went and had a baby of her own.  That last visit, lo those many months ago, was when she'd given me the talking-to about gaining too much weight (as sweetly as a person can say such a thing, for real -- she is SO nice and so upbeat, so it's not like I have been holding a grudge all this time, but it was still Out There).  This time, she walked in and exclaimed, "Oh, your belly is PERFECT!" and proceeded to commend me on everything from my bloodwork to my girth.  Which was actually very gratifying, because one takes what one can get in these matters and anyway I'm a sucker for approval of virtually any kind, sad as that may be. 

And of course, it's not like I have been abstemious for the past several months -- there has been much baking and feasting and general merriment, and nothing in the way of deprivation -- so evidently my body just needed to pack on some pounds at the outset, and then it leveled off.  Which is what I sort of figured back at the time, although hearing the cautionary words still made me feel like I was FAILING in some small way.  Like I had Gotten It Wrong.  Welcome to the mind of The Chronic Overachiever: Pregnancy Edition. 

The odd thing is, I had always thought that I would LOATHE the way my body looked and felt if I got pregnant, but from the first sign of that pooch (when I was, like, FIVE MINUTES pregnant) to today's beach ball look, I've felt fine with it.  Just as I did pre-pregnancy, I have days where I feel bloated or icky, but on the whole my body image has been positive.  I feel cute and strangely strong and sort of proud about this big ol' belly.  It's fun to watch my body transform in ways I hadn't really imagined before.  And obviously it's all for the best cause ever and all that, so it makes sense that I wouldn't mind the changes, but rationality and logic don't usually come into play when we're talking about our bodies and how we feel about them, you know?  So that's another pleasant surprise here in Bellyland.  They just keep on coming. 

In other news, today we had our maternity photo shoot with Laura, and it was so much fun!  She is just as pretty and sweet as I'd imagined her to be, and it was very comforting to hear her lovely Southern accent.  I'm really excited about the photos -- we'll finally have some belly shots that do not involve our bathroom towels or my many shades of sweatpants! -- as I know that with her talent it somehow won't matter that my hair was completely frizzed on one side or that Joe blinked in half the shots.  And the next time we have a shoot with her, it will be OF THE BABY.  Of OUR baby.  Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

Here are the last two weeks' worth of sweatpant-belly-shots, for weeks 29 and 30 -- the 29-week-ers feature a guest appearance from a certain resident smartass dad.  Hee.

Comments

[Marie Green]

Wow, I'm so glad things are just chugging along for you! Isn't it funny how our bodies know more than any chart/book/etc can tell us?

[daysgoby]

My parents shot an announcement of pregnancy shot with my Mom pointing her pinky at Dad and Dad with his hand on her belly. SO CUTE!

[Laura]

Oh my gosh, you are so sweet! I had a blast and am dying to show you the pictures!

[terri]

I can hardly wait to see the pictures. And I had no idea Laura was from the South! Yea, for Facebook connections!

[Carolyn J.]

I know someone who's due date is close to yours and she is huge. I mean, having triplets huge! You have a fairly modest beachball there, you lucky girl.

[the new girl]

That 30 week belly is cute, cute, CUTE.

And I love the pics with the smart ass dad.

Then again, maybe I just love smart ass dads in general.

[glenna]

Love your cute little belly pics!! :)

[Ris]

I loved that most of the celebrities were such good sports about the rain. Good job guys, way to not be divas. Also, I just love the belly pics!

[Julie]

You are totally one those girls who has a cute baby bump. You're getting so close.

[Christine]

Aww the belleh! So flippin' cute.