41 and Pregnant; Episode 5:: My Favorite Parts of Pregnancy

Previously on 41 and Pregnant: Gigi found out she was having a boy in an epic Pinterest fail.

In this episode, we find Gigi in week 25.

Being more than halfway through the 2nd trimester is fabulous! I have finally stopped puking, and for about a week, I had energy. It was amazing! Then I crossed right over into beached whale territory, which is where I shall remain until September.

Nevertheless, there are many good things about these recent weeks of pregnancy. I wish someone had filmed them in a montage set to “Baby Baby” by Amy Grant or similar. You’ll have to use your imagination, but here’s my recent personal highlight reel:

1. Pre-pregnancy Gigi was often mistaken as pregnant. You can imagine me hiking up my Spanx, telling embarrassed strangers that I’m just shaped this way, and dejectedly bypassing all shift dresses and anything else not A-lined. Flash forward to pregnant Gigi, who lives in tight dresses. My belly is supposed to stick out! Why yes, stranger in the produce section, I AM pregnant! (But no, you can’t touch me…) Seriously—I am my most body confident in shapes that non-pregnant Gigi would never ever wear. It’s the BEST!
2. You know what else was the best? The belly laugh I had at a specialist’s office. A medical tech was asking me all these questions presumably to ensure my safety and that of my baby: do you smoke, do you drink alcohol, are you safe at home, does anyone hit you, etc. I was disinterestedly saying “No, no, no.” Then she asked if I was sexually active and I guffawed and gestured to the general vicinity of my belly and said, “I was….OBVIOUSLY.” She did not know what to do. You should have seen her perplexed face. Apparently, the form did not have a space for this response so she asked me again. I replied, “You mean like currently? Like this week or last night?” She turned beet red. I was not deterred. “Honey, I stopped throwing up about five minutes ago and now I look like this. I can barely reach to shave my legs. So….no. No, I’m not currently sexually active.” I laughed again. I might have peed a little. She left with her clipboard, seemingly unamused by me.
3. Ok, this third thing I’m grateful for in this pregnancy is going to sound odd, but hear me out. Non-pregnant I’m not a small person. I’m a healthy person, but a heavy person, as some of us are. My ideal size is a 14, and I have to WORK to get there. At size 14, I’m strong and fit and healthy. I was a 16/18 when I got pregnant, so not necessarily ideal weight, and not small. By mid-2nd trimester, I had gained only 14 pounds. It really is all belly, which is vastly different from when I was previously pregnant with twins. Because I’m used to carrying extra weight, this isn’t uncomfortable. My back doesn’t hurt. My feet and legs aren’t swollen. My body actually feels fine, although large. But I’ve been large for my entire adult life, so it doesn’t feel bad. I know that seems like a strange thing to be grateful for, but I am glad that my body is handling this so well! At this point with the twins, my body was basically collapsing, so truly, this is a welcome change.
4. Finally, I love the pregnancy excuse. This one also makes a great montage. Picture non-pregnant Gigi in summers past being annoyed at having to put down her book and get in the pool with the kids. Picture me sighing as I gathered up beach chairs, coolers, floats, bags of toys, and all the other nonsense moms lug to the beach and then trudging through the sand like I was on my way to the electric chair. Now I gleefully exit the car, grab my little purse and very nearly skip to my pool chair. “No, I can’t play monkey in the middle right now. I need to rest.” “Honey, can you carry that? I’m not supposed to.” I have excuses at the ready for almost every request. The added bonus is that my kids are learning that if they want something at the pool or beach, they need to be responsible for packing and carrying it. I can only hope it carries forward!

My relief at crossing through the bad parts of pregnancy is huge. By nature, I am a positive, grateful person, but oh boy was it dark there for a while! I remain intrigued by women who feel good for their entire pregnancies. I’m getting a little taste of that now, and it’s glorious. However you felt pregnant, I hope you found something to laugh at and a silver lining to celebrate!