Showing (Maybe?)

Last night Nate and I were in the kitchen getting ready for dinner. I was leaning against a counter talking to him and he said, “You’re showing. I can see your belly.” I was wearing a pretty loose shirt, but I think he’s right. It’s funny because when I’ve normally put on a few pounds, I get generally wide all over. I mean, my whole belly, hips, butt, thighs, arms, etc. Right now it’s just my stomach (perhaps that will change with time) sticking out in front.

I am going to a holiday party, so I was trying to figure out what to wear. I tried on a few different outfits and had to retire several pairs of pants. My body is definitely changing. The legs and butt still fit fine (again, another detail that may change with time) but I couldn’t button the waist on several things. Also I noticed I can no longer wear some shirts. I have the unintentional flesh flashing between some critical buttons, if you know what I mean.

So far pregnancy has been interesting. Things are happening that are simply beyond my control. For someone who thinks too much most of the time, having a process that happens wholly in the body, without my input or effort, has been a different experience.

The last couple of nights I’ve suspected I felt the baby moving. My doc and most people would say it’s too early, it was my imagination or gas or digestion or something, but I really do think it’s the baby. It’s happened at night when I’m resting and relaxed, and I feel these odd, fluttering movements. The same area of my stomach where those feelings are coming from also seems harder than everywhere else, like maybe there’s a little munchkin doing the mambo in there. So I don’t know for sure, but it seems like ze baby to moi.

I’ve also been thinking a lot about the baby’s gender. Nate wanted to find out and I didn’t. I’ve mentioned before that Nate is a planner (he wants to know how we should decorate the nursery, what clothes to buy, and someone is making us a baby quilt), but I am not. It’s not so much the surprise factor, I mean, it’s going to be a girl or a boy, right? How much of a surprise can there be really? My attitude is that it’s more a matter of waiting for the proper time. There’s no need to rush things that have their own way and method of unfolding. The snow falls when it falls. The cake is done when it’s done. You find out what you’re having when you have it. I understand that many people don’t agree (including my husband), and I’ve decided to compromise in this particular case because I’ve had dreams about the baby and feel like I know what flavor the munchkin is anyway. I could be wrong. I guess we’ll know in a couple of weeks, if the baby cooperates. My sister and I have a bet going. I’ll let you know who’s taking home the moolah.