I am not pregnant. I have never been pregnant. But I will be, once I am out of grad school. And I am utterly terrified. Because of the terror, I do a lot of research on the subject, which mostly doesn’t help. I have those family members who are going to irritate the crap out of me with their questions and advice. (It’ll probably be the same ones who thought I’d asked them to plan my wedding for me.) I hate going to the doctor and I am afraid of hospitals. I am scared of gaining the “wrong” kind of weight, doing something wrong from the List of All The Things Pregnant Woman Cannot Do and harming my baby, etc. And that’s not even considering the anxiety about my fertility (whether or not it even exists), the baby’s health, ending up with some terrible pregnancy something-or-other. Your perspective is so refreshing to me. Knowing that some women don’t love pregnancy, don’t wish it “would never end,” and aren’t convinced they’re glowing examples of blossoming motherhood makes me feel better, because I know, know, know that’s how I’m going to feel.

Just so you know, I think you make a lovely pregnant lady. :) Thank you so much for sharing your pregnancy story. Believe it or not, reading it has done wonders to chip away at the enormous block of anxiety I deal with when it comes to getting pregnant.

(p.s. my secret little plan has been to pretty much not tell anybody I’m pregnant as long as I can hold out. The thing I am dreading the most, perhaps, is what I like to call the Pregnancy One-Upmanship…”My pregancy was so much worse than yours and let me tell you all about that in great detail…” Um, no thank you. So, again, my heart said a little “Thank you!” when I read about how you felt more comfortable keeping your pregnancy to yourself. I completely agree…why does pregnancy somehow mean that the pregnant woman no longer has any self-established boundaries that deserve respect?)

Sorry, this is long. That just goes to show how much reading your blog touched me today. :)
~ Becky

April – No…..usually it’s weight that comes up first, then the baby. Weight, stretch marks, swelling, etc. I’ve only had 2 people who told me that I look great. Two people in 7 months. That’s sad since it’s probably the only nice thing you SHOULD say to someone when they’re pregnant. Even if they were just trying to be nice, it sounds a lot better than ‘it looks like you gained a lot of weight’.

Catrina – Congrats! You’re at the halfway mark! I remember 20 weeks as it were just yesterday :P I think everyone gets the comment of how it looks like you’re carrying twins. I don’t get it. I’m sure you look great though. Good luck with your pregnancy and enjoy your 2nd trimester!

Sheila – My due date is Sept. 27th. I like french fries, and I like sugar now. It seems to make sense to put those two together :P

Glad you’re doing well! So, July 23 you were 31 weeks pregnant? When is your due date?

Have you tried powdered sugar on top of french fries yet? Its like a delicious funnel salt cake.

I’m glad to hear you’re doing well so far! I can’t imagine how frustrating it would be to deal with all the ‘advice’ and questions from people when you’re pregnant. I can’t imagine saying anything other than congratulations to a new mom! And then proceed to ask how she’s doing.