Once again the comments about my large size have begun, and my sensitive pregnant self can't help but feel disheartened with the belief that everyone is right and I will not make it to December, my due date. It's difficult to hear these kinds of comments, "that I'm BIG, that the due date must be miscalculated and if I think I'm gonna make it to December"...yada yada yada, because no mother wants to deliver a preterm baby. Elena, my first, was a preterm (through induction) baby and though her complications as a result were fairly minor it still took an emotional toll. The possibility of that happening again makes me anxious and question whether this 5 foot petite body can truly hold a baby full term. I begin to believe all these comments for just a moment until logic sets in, and I realize that other people's predictions and superstitions aren't logical at all!
Most recently my OB said that the biggest predictor of when this baby will come is not earlier Braxton hicks contractions, how I feel, or anything else. The single predictor for when this baby will come is the history of when my previous babies made their debut. :-) So for my last two not medically induced pregnancies, my body naturally welcomed two baby girls (2 years apart) at 39 weeks. Turns out my body CAN keep babies in full-term!
Well, this conviction didn't come as easily as it may sound. As I was moping about how upset these comments made me feel, I decided to dig through old photos and compare them to see if there was any true difference between my size now and my size in previous pregnancies. Along the way I found this post from my pregnancy with Karina and it is about this same issue again; reading that was a relief but I was even more relieved when I saw the previous pregnancy pictures and I pretty much knew there was not much difference between my pregnant self then or now. To give myself ultimate proof and really feel confident about "making it full term," I decided to take current photos replicating everything as much as I could. The images are what really made me feel better. I just happen to look big early on which I already knew. But isn't it amazing what photographs can do?
My take away is that yea I look big but hey, that's okay because that's what my body has done 3 other times and it is totally normal for me. :-)
And there, is my pick me up for the day and hopefully or not hopefully for future days . :-) Good night.
31 weeks pregnant with Karina
31.5 weeks current pregnancy
(bigger, zoomed in photo)
(bigger, zoomed in photo)
31.5 weeks this pregnancy
32 weeks pregnant with Marisa
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