words

It’s curious, when you’re pregnant, how your body becomes so publicly available.

I know people talk and write about it a lot: the way almost.strangers will suddenly touch your belly or ask you private questions that they would never normally ask. Even the way people see you changes: I am incredibly conscious of others’ gaze as I walk, eat, sit and swim.

But mostly it’s the casual comments that I’ve struggled with:

• you’re carrying this one differently
• you really aren’t that fat
• your face is still skinny
• your boobs really are huge

I know that they’re just throw-away lines from people I don’t know very well. But still, they leave me super uncomfortable. I don’t know what to do with them, I don’t know if and how to respond. And I find myself feeling frustrated that I allow their words to affect my experience of being pregnant.

Tags: babies, choices, community, values