20 weeks
Not the most flattering angle, but it was the only way to keep my mess of an apartment out of the photo. My place has been looking a little tragic these days.
Everyone kept telling me, one day you’ll pop. And at exactly 20 weeks—the half way point—I did just that. Suddenly, it was like, whoa belly, where have YOU been? It no longer looks bloated or full, it looks pregnant.
I tell people I’ve hit the sweet spot now. I’m no longer nauseous and I can eat almost all the foods I enjoyed before, thank goodness. Aside from my face breaking out and the occasional fatigue, it’s been smooth sailing during the second trimester. Fingers crossed I didn’t just jinx myself for saying that.
I do have to say that while pregnancy is exciting and gives me warm feelings, it also feels incredibly weird, physically. This belly is growing and while that’s a great sign of things progressing as they should, it’s just so…heavy, sometimes. Getting out of bed or bending down is already becoming surprisingly difficult! There are times when I think to myself, how the hell am I supposed to carry this kid in my body when she grows to the size of a small melon? I can’t even fathom it. For now, I’ll keep pep-talking myself, This is completely natural. My body is made for this. My belly button is forming some odd shapes too. I expect I’ll have an outie at some point, which kind of freaks me out a bit.
This week, I’m scheduled for a detailed anatomy scan, which basically means I’ll have about a 30-minute ultrasound, in which all the baby’s organs are going to be examined carefully to make sure everything is growing and functioning properly. I expect a good report, but I always go into these things a little anxious because…well, you never know. I’m also hoping that we get a nicer sonographer this time around and not the terrible one we got a few weeks ago. I swear, this woman was the most miserable person I’ve encountered at this office. Listen, I don’t expect cheeriness from everyone I meet, but there was not an ounce of warmth or enthusiasm from her. It was as if everything she told us (i.e. “the heart looks good”, “it’s a girl”) took so much of an effort for her to say and when she did say it, it was barely audible. Like I said, new sonographer please!
One of the perks of being pregnant is how accommodating people are. They’ll offer you the cushiest seat in their home or make sure that you get dibs on all the leftover food. On the other hand, it also brings out the strangest questions. I went to a work dinner on Friday night and in front of everyone, one of my coworkers asked, “So are you getting a lot of gas now?!” Um…WHAT? I’ve gotten a few other weird comments, but nothing really outrageous. Most people mean well so it doesn’t bother me too much, but it does leave me wondering, Did you really just say that out loud? That said, I’d love to know if you received any slightly inappropriate or off-color comments when/if you were pregnant. Do tell! I feel like this could get fun.
