Now You See It, Now You Don't

Lately, I have noticed something entertaining happening at the gym. I've watched people who have only seen me from the back do a double-take as I turn to face them or as they suddenly catch a glimpse of my profile. This happens typically when either I was on the treadmill in front of them and they haven't seen my front/side until I step off post-workout or when I am over lifting weights and all you can see until you walk up next to me is my body from either the shoulders up or hips down, depending on where you might be standing amongst the weight machines. The look goes a little like this: normal eyes meet mine and smile politely, then said eyes glance down, take in my ginormous belly, widen to the size of saucers and look back up at me all startled and and alarmed. Now listen, on the one hand, I take this as a huge compliment. I take this to mean that I am not obviously pregnant from the back nor am I swelling as the books say I will. This week, the book says I should watch out for chipmunk cheeks. Chipmunk cheeks? Seriously? I think not! At any rate, I thought a little photo aid, for those of you who haven't seen me in awhile, might help you understand the gym scenario.

Picture #1 - Erin From the Back

Picture #2 - Erin From the Side

Reality of the pictures? Erin is now a full 34 weeks pregnant and what was once a little Orange Seed is now a hefty 5lb "pineapple" who has pushed out my stomach, ribs, and hips to make enough room for her ever growing mass. Notice too that in order to make these pics of the Gym Experience especially realistic, I took them right after I got back from a good long workout. Nothing like pics of a sweaty pregnant lady to start the day off right, no?

I should probably be taking pictures every week at this point. I certainly feel like my belly is now growing with every day. It's amazing how things have changed in just a couple of weeks. I'm finally the one in yoga class who can't bend into certain positions without the help of a block. Orange Seed now moves constantly, to the point where though I still love feeling her squirming around in there, I also occasionally want to tell her to take it easy. The fact that her new favorite place to put her feet is up under my ribcage makes some of her sweet movements a little harsher than necessary. Also, the fact that she will now occasionally do what I swear must be a full 360-somersault in there is making some of her escapades feel more like a bad case of seasickness than like the sweet tickles of baby toes. Seeing as she weighed 4lbs6oz at our last appointment and is supposed to be gaining nearly .5lbs per week, Orange Seed could now be weighing in at over 5lbs total. Incredible to think that she is somehow going to manage to pack on another 3 or so lbs before it is time for her to emerge. I'm not totally convinced that there is room in there for another 3lbs. I've been getting some pretty intense shots of pain through my ribs lately and I'm thinking that it's because they are being forced to expand with her increase in size. I've got to believe there is only so far they can go before we start seeing breakage. But then, the body is certainly an amazing thing and who knows...maybe those ribs are made of more flexible material than I have previously been informed. Let's hope so, otherwise it might be time to invest in a corset to keep those suckers in place.