No Touchy! Inappropriate belly touching and discussions of bodily secretions with people I don’t know.

No Touchy! Inappropriate belly touching and discussions of bodily secretions with people I don’t know.

Week of Pregnancy: 18

Fruit to Fetus Comparison: Mango! Around 230 grams and growing fast!

Cravings: Still none. Happy to eat half a litre of mango sorbet though (woops)

Aversions: Not a lot. Does housework count?

Husband’s excitement metre: Growing, as potential movements make their debut. Also, he is sick, so this probably kills most of the excitement.

So, this week the cramps have cleared up, still some stretchy feelings happening, but nothing abnormal! Yay! Have worked the whole week, and despite some exhaustion and twingy feelings in the tummy after cheerleading, nothing to call home about!

This week EVERYONE returned home from abandoning me! My brother came to look after me over the weekend (he is super), Justin came back from the snow (dislocated thumb, sore butt and a cold), and my parents came home from Scotland. Exciting or what? Now I can revert to my normal, needy self. 

Another thing that’s happened this week – I’ve popped. Suddenly, I am feeling enormous, none of my pants fit, and I look pregnant. Like, super pregnant. I know I’m only half way through, but I feel enormous! Everything else is the same size, except for the tummy and the boobs. So, of course, it’s a very good excuse to go shopping and show off my amazing new body in slightly larger clothing (More to love). 

So, a dress and a top later, Stacy, Lynesha and I have checked out all the baby clothes in Target Country, and they have promised to help organise my baby shower in November. OHMYGOSH baby clothes are so cute and adorable and seriously tiny! The 0000 clothes are about the smallest things I’ve ever seen in my life!!!! Also so many adorable girl clothes!! Also boy clothes – tiny jackets and shoes! Of course, I am desperate to dress up a daughter in frilly pink jackets and adorable skirts, but would love to dress a little dude up in jeans and mini sneakers! Okay, I know they’re not dolls, but I think I’m allowed a moment of severe girliness.

Back to the topic – larger stomach.

This week have had comments from kids such as:

“OMG Miss! You’re showing! That’s so cute!” – Thanks Year Ten Girl, though I am proud of my baby belly, a girl never wants to hear she’s bigger!

“Miss! Can I touch your belly?!” – No, Year Twelve Girl, you may not. It’s seriously creepy, and, let’s be honest, how much creepier would it be if I wasn’t pregnant?!

“Is it a girl or a boy?” –  Much tougher question.

This is where we enter the debate of how I’m ‘carrying’ the baby (hardly obvious – as I’m only 18 weeks not 30 weeks!) and am told that if I’m carrying high, it’s a boy, if it’s low, it’s a girl. What have I been craving? Sugary foods? Must be a girl, they’re sweet! What about savoury? It’s a boy – they like savoury. What month did I get pregnant in? That has a large say on what the sex of the baby will be, you know. If it’s an odd number month, it’s a boy, where as if it’s an even number month, it’s a girl. Though sometimes prime numbers can be difficult to tell! Finally – the ring trick. Tie a piece of hair onto your wedding ring, hold it over your belly, and if it swings side to side, it’s a girl, if it swings in circles, it’s a boy.

I try hard not to laugh at these wives tales, as some of the people suggesting them really believe they are true. But really, can you tell what sex a baby is from what you are craving? Can you find out by looking at the bump? I have my doubts, but perhaps those more educated than me can tell!

Another thing now that I’m showing – people are totally fine and open with discussing:

A)    How pregnancy happens. Ie; The fact that my husband and I had sex. (But I thought babies were brought by the stork?!)

B)    The things that happen to bodies when you have a baby inside them (Digestion, bodily secretions, birthing etc)

C)     War stories/what is going to happen to you and what happened to them. (Episiotomies, C-sections, twenty-million hour labours)

I don’t mind, it’s just that these things are usually taboo! I'm good with most conversations about weird fetishes, itches and problems of others, but when people are talking about my cervix like it’s on the front page of the newspaper, it kind of freaks me out a bit. The bodily secretions that are expected of pregnant women, bladder control, stretch marks, ‘how’s the sex’ questions, are you planning on having a natural birth or drug up (differing opinions from EVERYONE), will you breast feed or go bottle (again, everyone has an opinion) and, of course, everyone’s opinion is vital.

I don’t mind, in fact, I enjoy the discussions most of the time, but it’s just such a huge difference to not being pregnant. Nobody wants to hear about a non-pregnant girl’s cervix. Now that’s just wrong. But now there’s a baby in there, let’s talk. Well, time to suck it up and enjoy the differing opinions, advice and merry times ahead!

Ultrasound week next week!!! 

Peace

Rhonie