The Baby Belly Blues

I think baby bellies are so cute. I'm sad when I hear of a woman who feels fat or wants to hide her belly. I don't have much of a belly, but once people have known I was pregnant, I was excited to show it off. I don't mind people commenting on it (as long as the word "fat" is not involved), and I don't mind people touching it.

So imagine my surprise when I tried on a dress on Saturday night, and I was shocked at what I saw. The dress is particularly unforgiving--the stretchy fabric makes it a good transition dress, but it's one of those dresses I've always worn with a conscious effort to suck in my pooch. And now there was no sucking in. That pooch was out there to stay. And it didn't look like pregnant pooch to me at that moment.

I came out to Jon and said, "I'm not skinny anymore!!"

(Not that I would ever describe myself as "skinny," but it made for a more dramatic statement.)

Jon hugged me and affirmed, no, that I was not, but that I wasn't supposed to be, and I looked beautiful.

I wore the dress the next day to church, and by that time I'd gotten a little more used to the idea. I did get immediate comments about my belly when I walked into Sunday School, and I just decided to enjoy it. I mean, how often will I get to wear this dress and not worry about sucking in?

I'm standing at a slight angle, which makes the belly protrude less than in real life. Believe me, it was quite noticeable!