Wow, you look GREAT!

Pregnancy is a difficult time for the pregnant person and her friends. I mean, whether the baby bump is big or little, you can't just say "you look so small" because theoretically if the pregnant person has been though a lot of morning sickness, other physical ailments, AND non of her pants fit, just saying something as innocent as "you barely look pregnant! wow!" can feel like a slap in the face. No, they may not have known all that I she has been through, the weeks of morning sickness, the migraines, the forgetfulness, the mornings of nothing-fits. And, I'm not about to come clean and say "let me tell you what I've been through" because it doesn't matter. But instead of saying "wow you look like you have nothing to show for all your work these past 16 weeks," how about "wow, you look GREAT!" And, it works the other way. When someone looks like they're about to deliver an elephant at 20 weeks along, you don't say "wow, you look so biig!" because believe me, she KNOWS how big she looks. You just say "you look GREAT" and leave it at that. Unless you are in the same boat-then you can compare abdomens. Just be careful to tread lightly as you would want her to tread.

I'm not bemoaning my "condition" or the word choices, just coming up with something to write about, something that has been mulling around in my head. Being at work and pregnant, I get that all the time. Once I was asked how I felt, and I said "fat" because I did. None of my pants fit (surprising because they're SCRUBS!), but it was true. I was laughed at. She said "You're not serious!" and I felt so embarrassed. Just because my pregnant belly isn't as big as some people's normal self, doesn't mean I don't have my fat-feeling days. If a bigger person can feel skinny in a size smaller as she's working out, then I can feel fatter as my unborn child pushes me out of my normal sizes.

Wow, you look GREAT!