Documenting the Bump

Believe it or not (but, really, believe it), the husband of the blogger is the one in this story who pushes it forward. Said blogger didn’t exactly care too much about documenting a week by week change in le bump.

A “what about just monthly pics?”/ milestones/ when it happens, it happens attitude led me to be totally fine with veering far away from blogger-esque weekly bumpdates. Besides the iPhone photo I texted to my sister the morning after we found out, there’s no photographic evidence I peed on a stick (or four sticks). And, even then, that photo’s just a zoom in of the digital “Pregnant 3 weeks” window. There’s no “before” picture showing what I looked like 5 weeks in, zero evidence of pregnancy on my physical body besides pimples and bags under my eyes. And we don’t have a smiling selfie of the two of us holding up a sign “WE’RE PREGNANT” or anything like that.

Yes, it’s true. I wasn’t going to make a big deal about my body changing. But then, as Alex looked over my shoulder at my secret pregnancy pin board and saw these photos of moms holding pieces of fruit week by week and touching their bellies week by week, he decided once and for all that we had to do something similar. He really wanted me to hold a piece of fruit over my belly those first few weeks and smile for the camera, but I had to draw the line somewhere.

So, on my own terms, I went out and bought a few chalkboard wall stickers, rearranged some picture frames, and turned a wall in our living room into a baby shrine. And, truth be told, I’m loving it. It’s like a ritual now, deciding what to share each week about the little babe.

It’s frustrating, though, because (thanks to wider hips and, apparently, a history of being relatively fit), my bump is hiding rather well. I hold my little bump in bed each night. It’s there, poking out in between my hipbones. But, mainly, I just feel like I’ve lost my figure, gained some boobs, and that I’m edging toward the fat stage of pregnancy at full-speed. I can’t wait for my real, proper bump. But, until then, I’m trying my hardest to embrace these fat days that are just around the corner.

Plus, Alex really enjoys our weekly photo shoots.

I’ll be 15 weeks on Monday. Maybe you’ll actually see the bump then. Or, maybe not.