Ten reasons I miss the bump

I should first say that I was lucky enough to have a largely positive pregnancy, in fact, I loved being pregnant, and most of the things that came with it (except for the lack of sleep, I did not enjoy that).

Of course I love twelve week old more on the outside then when she was on the inside but it’s ok to mourn the end of the special nine months that she was brewing for? I think so.

Here are 10 things that I miss

1. You don’t have to plan
2. A shrinking wardrobe
3. It’s an instant conversation starter
4. The kicking
5. A tight tum
6. No body shape
7. Thicker hair
8. And nails
9. Pregnancy yoga
10. And finally…People treat you like an egg

1.    You don’t have to plan. While the baby is inside there is no limit on the places you can take her. You can ride the escalator, go to the theatre and the baby gets to enjoy coming along for the ride from the safety of the womb. As soon as it’s on the other side, transporting the baby around becomes a very different ball game. Prams and escalators don’t mix well.

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2.    A shrinking wardrobe. It’s a good thing, hear me out, I found being forced into a capsule wardrobe quite liberating. Everything from getting ready in the morning to keeping the laundry up to date is easy when you only have a few items of clothing on rotation.

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3.    It’s an instant conversation starter. There is never an awkward silence once the bump is visible, ok, the conversation might centre on the small human growing inside but I was always happy to talk about that. Admittedly a baby does the same job as long as you never let it leave your side!

4.    The kicking. It was comforting, surreal, but comforting. Occasionally now I mistake a bubble of wind for a kick and instinctively feel my belly before realising that she’s kicking in her cot now. Which brings me to…

My belly now resembles that of a pensioner who has spent too much time in the sun.

5.    A tight tum. Because my belly while housing a baby is the only time it’s been rock hard since I was a teen. It now resembles that of a pensioner who has spent too much time in the sun.

6.    No body shape. Or rather one that could only be described as very pregnant. My usual body hang-ups seemed to disappear as the bump grew. It’s all about perspective, an enormous bump on the front made my legs and bum look tiny in comparison!

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7.    Thicker hair. Oh how I mourn each strand that escapes me now. My usually fine hair benefitting from mother nature’s gift of holding on to every lock during pregnancy became thick, bouncy, luscious. Hey, it even held a curl. It didn’t get greasy either. I could really do with those perks now while I battle to get two of us looking presentable every morning.

8.    And nails. My usually bitten nails grew more quickly meaning that they often looked presentable, for a change. And in those long weeks waiting for the baby to make it’s appearance they were regularly painted too.

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9.    Pregnancy yoga. It’s gentle (read easy), we were all women in the same boat with the same worries and it was totally relaxing.

10. And finally…People treat you like an egg. ‘Let me carry that for you’, ‘do you want to sit down’. I remained perfectly capable all the way through my pregnancy but it does make you feel kind of special. And everyone likes to feel special. I think if we all just treated each other like we treat pregnant women the world would be a kinder place.

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