I am a pregnant woman, and I wear maternity clothes

Dear Baby,

I am a pregnant woman.

Now I know what you're thinking. Obviously you're a pregnant woman - you're pregnant!

Yes, it may seem obvious to you, but as I discovered a few days ago, there is a huge difference between being just pregnant and being a pregnant woman.

When you're pregnant, you have enough hCG in you to get a BFP when you pee on a pregnancy test stick.

When you're a pregnant woman, those lovely hCG hormones (and others) make you cry at every song on the radio (yes, even the not sappy ones) and even some commercials.

When you're pregnant, your body is working hard to support a new life inside of you.

When you're a pregnant woman, all of that extra work that your body is doing makes you sleepy all the time.

When you're pregnant, you may soon find that your clothes are too tight to wear comfortably.

When you're a pregnant woman, you actually enjoy wearing your first pair of maternity pants because it means that you're making room for the new life inside of you.

When you're pregnant, all that extra work that your body is doing also makes you very hungry.

When you're a pregnant woman, you find yourself standing in front of your open fridge at 3 am shoveling food into your mouth as fast as you can open and/or unwrap it. Eating utensils not required.

Okay, that last one may have been a bit pointed.

But I realized the other night (yes, the night that I was standing in front of my open fridge at 3 am shoveling food into my mouth as fast as I could open and/or unwrap it...sans eating utensils) that I have officially crossed over.

I am no longer just pregnant.

I am now a pregnant woman.

I am one of those.

I never thought I would be one of those.

This realization came at about 3:15 am on the night in question.

There I was, shoveling food in my mouth - anything and everything within reach - when (as unladylike as this is to admit) I suddenly just let out a loud, giant fart.

And I just kept eating - no reaction whatsoever.

Until about 30 seconds later when I realized what a sight I would be if anyone was awake to witness me in all my hungry, tired, pregnant, flatulent glory.

And then I couldn't stop myself from laughing.

Honestly, there I was eating as fast as possible in front of my open fridge door, ready to collapse any second from exhaustion (hence the eating as fast as possible - I wanted to fill up before I passed out!), and farting.

I was quite the sight.

And that was when it suddenly struck me. I'm not just pregnant. I'm a pregnant woman. Lord, have mercy.

So, there you have it, little one. You have turned me into a pregnant woman. And as hormonal and tired and flatulent and emotional and hungry as that makes me, I wouldn't have it any other way.

I'm sorry, by the way, to be sharing with you about my flatulence...or, I should say, our flatulence, because it is really your fault that I'm having this issue - not that I'm blaming you. It has honestly been my most consistent (and least attractive) symptom of pregnancy, but I've never blogged about it. It's not exactly pleasant to talk about. It's not exactly ladylike, either (and, though I'd be hard-pressed to never admit it, being ladylike has always been pretty important to me). But this story was too good to pass up. I don't ever want to forget the moment I realized that I had transitioned from being just pregnant to being a pregnant woman.

Also, yesterday, I got my first maternity clothes.

My jeans just weren't cutting it anymore. Even in all their unbuttoned and unzipped glory, they were still too tight.

So yesterday your dad and I went maternity clothes shopping.

We actually had a lot of success shopping the clearance section!

We got a pair of maternity jeans from JC Penney (only $17 and seriously the most comfortable thing I've ever owned - yet still cute), two long-sleeved shirts ($13 each) and a cute, gray shirt-dress (about $35) from The Gap, and a pair of black leggings (to go with the aforementioned cute, gray shirt-dress) from Target for $25. All in all, I got five pieces of maternity wear for less than $100 - not bad, I'd say!

And boy, am I loving these maternity jeans. They offer support for my growing tummy without crushing you (or me!) - it's pretty awesome!

So, there you have it.

I'm a pregnant woman, and I wear maternity clothes.

'S Wonderful

Or, even better, It's delightful, It's delicious, It's de-lovely.

It's de-lovely baby; you're de-lovely :)

I love you so, so much - keep on growing!

Love,

Mom

ps...One of the women at our church had a baby boy about a week and a half ago, and we got to see him for the first time today. He is just so sweet, so tiny, so beautiful. It made me all the more anxious to have you in my arms.