Week 30: Three-quarters pregnancy crisis

By Published On: January 6th, 2015

Somewhere around a few weeks ago I started getting this […]

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Anyone else feeling like they are sticking out (in more ways than one) quite a bit these days?

Somewhere around a few weeks ago I started getting this weird feeling that I’m sticking out a bit more than I’d like, in several ways.
I think it first hit me when I mentioned to someone that I still have a trimester to go, and the person I was talking to said, “You STILL have THAT many weeks left?” in this shocked and astonished sort of way. Yikes! What did she mean by that? Am I looking that huge? And oh how quickly my thoughts turned.
Does she know how big a pregnant lady is supposed to look? I wondered. I mean, she’s no OB/GYN!
Then, a week later I went to an appointment at the doctor’s office, and I got weighed at the beginning of the appointment. I stepped on the physician’s scale, and the nurse began to slide the top, metal square over, and over … and over. Then she quickly shoved it back to the left without telling me the verdict.
“That bad, huh?,” I half-joked, expecting her to reassure me that it was normal.
“Well, it happens,” the nurse replied. Cue inner-sobbing and guilt from this pregnant girl.
IT HAPPENS? I thought, That wasn’t really the response I was expecting!
During my appointment, my doctor told me that he wasn’t concerned, but I couldn’t help but let my mind wander, worry and feel insecure. Do other pregnant mamas have the same concerns?
We do our best to try and ensure a safe and healthy nine months for our little growing babes. We work out, we eat (as) healthy (as we can), we take our prenatal vitamins and read our labor and delivery books. But so easily, a few comments can send our minds spinning and our confidence tanking. I’m not proud of my recent worries and insecurities, but I have a feeling I might not be the only one experiencing them.
It’s not like we aren’t already self-conscious. It seems like I’m gaining weight by the minute and every picture I saw from family gatherings over the holidays I did a serious double-take. Is that really me? Have the wheels actually fallen off of this whole thing? Have I really surpassed my delivery weight from my first pregnancy with so much time still to go? Also, what is up with all the aches and pains I’m having all the time now? Can I go a day without feeling like I’m getting ready to turn 70?
All of this complaining and venting to say, that whenever I get down, now I try and focus on the fact that the end is in sight! I’m three-quarters of the way done, and I’m in the homestretch. And yeah, there are going to be moments when I don’t feel or look my best, but as a friend reminded me, it will all be so worth it when I’m holding that baby in my arms. Can someone make me a Pinterest-y poster that says all of that on it?
What about you all? Any concerns or struggles as you are getting further along in your pregnancy?