This was taken at 15 weeks.One of the great regrets of my pregnancy is that I did not take many tummy pictures. Because we lost our hard drive a couple of years ago, these two grainy scanned pictures are all I have but for a couple of shower pictures from before I entered the hospital.
I am, by nature, modest and body conscious. Spending 8 1/2 weeks on bed rest in the hospital with extremely limited time to spend upright, you can understand how I was feeling a little less than 'my best' and did not exactly want lots of photos to memorialize my beached whale status.
This was taken at 26 weeks. I had been hospitalized for almost 3 weeks at this point and delivered 5.5 weeks later...after gaining a pound and a half a day the last week or so. You can only imagine how much bigger I was at that time!I really did have a sense of humor about it at the time. I had gained the suggested 36 pounds by 24 weeks of gestation. I knew the 3500 calories a day I was being instructed to eat were beneficial for my growing babies, but it really was not a very attractive time in my life. It did not help that the nurses referred to me as "little big mama" as my 5'2" frame ballooned to 170lbs. They even had a trapeze bar installed over my bed so I could pull myself up if I needed to go to the bathroom. The nursing assistants and I would giggle each morning as I pulled up and rolled out of bed for my daily weigh in and 5 minutes of allotted shower time. Imagine my surprise when that 70 lbs I gained only translated into 8.5 lbs of babies!
I really did love being pregnant despite the challenges. I get sad thinking that I will never get to experience that feeling again. I loved having my babies with me all the time and constantly had my hands on my tummy. It sounds silly now, but I always felt like I had a little secret in there--lives that were a mystery to me, yet were so intricately linked to mine. Pregnancy is a miracle isn't it?
It never really occurred to me that it was the only time I would get to experience pregnancy. We had decided in advance not to have a tubal during my C-section and really hoped to be able to conceive again without assistance. God had other plans--and I am truly at peace with that. But I do regret not having more pictures.
There goes that pride, always leading me to silly decisions!
8 comments:
I all but forbade photos of me when I was pregnant, and I regret it now. The few we have look horrid because I gained so much weight in my face, so I don't wish for more like that, but I do wish I had more "belly shots."
And, if it makes you feel any better, I knew that my daughter would be my last child because of health problems I was having, so I tried to savor every moment of the pregnancy, but . . . it doesn't really work that way. I still miss the kicks, the waddle walk, and the "name that bump." Not to mention how much nicer everyone is to you when your pregnant!
I too regret so much that I didn't take weekly belly shots of me pregnant with my twins. I'm so bummed about it. I only have about 2 or 3 pictures of my belly. :( but there is nothing I can do about it, ten years later.
I LOVED LOVED LOVED being pregnant so much. I prayed for it 4 years straight-through our infertility years, so what a huge blessing to be pregnant and with TWINS. I cherished it so much. I look back and know for sure it was seriously one of the happiest times of my whole life. It seems so long ago now. I love seeing pregnant moms, I feel a little envious that I only got to experience it one time in my life.
Kelly
I had just finished writing a post (one that I will probably post next week sometime) and popped over here. I laughed when I saw the picture ..NOT At all at YOU, but I had just finished uploading pictures of me pregnant and writing about bad maternity fashion sense. Hilarious that then I saw this. Let me just tell you this!: You looked at LEAST half my size (and I know you, in fact, are half my size, but I mean the baby belly itself) and I only had ONE baby in my belly. Of course she did weigh 8.6 lbs...Anyway, I'll guess you'll see soon enough my embarrassing prego pictures. (and I too have so little b/c I made everyone with cameras just stay away!)
i think you look great...i think i carried my weight in my face...not so on you!
pregnancy is amazing with one...can't imagine three...glad you are documenting it here!
I think you look great, too! My youngest (the only boy)kicked so much, and stretched himself out so much in my belly that I was afraid he was going to bruise me or break something in there....I can't imagine having three little ones in there doing that! I love your wayback Wednesday posts.
Darling, you're adorable. You have no reason to be self-conscious.
You do look adorable in those pictures! It's so hard sometimes to still feel like yourself when your body takes on such a life of its own.
I loved my last pregnancy and savored it. Not too many belly pictures, either, just ones that were taken in the course of whatever we were doing.
Such a cute belly! I will have to keep in mind to take pictures if I am ever blessed with a pregnancy :)
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