Things they don’t tell you about pregnancy – #3

The more I add to this little series, the more I think I should change the title. Because none of this stuff is secret, really, it’s more like I just didn’t know it going in. I don’t want to lead anyone on in thinking I’m revealing all these never-before known gems or anything, they were just my experiences. So what do we think? Do you care what it’s called? Should it just be “Things about pregnancy”? Should I just shut up and leave it?

So here’s my next one – parts of your body that have so far remained fairly dormant will begin taking on a life of their own.

Well duh, there’s a tiny human in there, of course your body’s going to change. Things stretch (what’s with that gross dark line running down the center of your belly?), things swell (have you seen your ankle bones lately?), and some things will never be the same again (the va-j? TOTALLY different from this day forward, assuming no c-section).

No, I mean parts that you didn’t even think would have anything to do with being pregnant.

When I got pregnant I obviously expected my stomach area to get huge, and probably an overall general weight gain evenly dispersed across my body. What I did not expect was that my ass would suddenly decide that it wanted to encompass a zip code all its own. I’m not kidding – it GREW!

I’ve always been relatively thin, so had never really thought much about my butt. It has some roundness to it for sure, it’s not a pancake by any means, but I’ve never considered myself as having a ghetto booty, per se. Leave it to a growing baby to change all that. Apparently fetuses enjoy feasting on large ass cheeks, and mine obliged accordingly.

Whatever, SM, your butt didn’t get that big when you were pregnant.

Ha! That’s where you’re wrong! I give you Exhibit A:

4 weeks, 5 days pregnant - notice the fairly small bum

And now I give you Exhibit B (keep in mind D was born at 38 weeks, 6 days):

38 weeks pregnant - BLADDOW!

Or, if you prefer, a side-by-side comparison:

Note there's a shadow behind the 1st one too, making the backside seem a little larger than it actually was in the starting picture

Baby got back! Seriously, you could rest a drink on that thing by the time I gave birth.

The photos are a little deceiving though, because what they don’t show is how wide that area became as well. I’ve never been very “hippy” either, but man did I spread out during those 9 months. I know that’s normal and it’s just your body getting ready for the baby to pass through the birth canal, but still. I didn’t know I was going to expand to such an extent in my derriere.

What was also weird to me was that my butt and hips were the very first things to change and grow once I got pregnant. Before there was any sign of an expanding belly, the seats and thighs of all my pants were already tighter. I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that my hunger was suddenly insatiable and focused primarily on greasy foods like cheeseburgers and pizzas, and exercise was pretty nonexistent, but whatever.

On a side note, but still pregnancy related, I found out last week that 3 more of my friends are pregnant!! That makes like a million girls I know now that are due sometime within the next 7-8 months. I may be verging on having more pregnant friends right now than non-pregnant friends. So crazy. I can’t wait to meet all these little squirts. D will be the “big kid” and boss everyone around, I’m sure. And I’m not gonna lie, it’s kind of making my ovaries start to twitch a little…