Sometimes I catch my reflection in mirror, see my baby bump and think “I really am pregnant!”

I’m very much aware that I’m pregnant on a regular basis now. Getting up can be a slow process, bending down to pick something up is hard, sleeping in not totally comfortable, and my ribs hurt on and off all day. But for some reason, seeing that reflection, that change to my body, makes it all hit home.

I’ve always imagined being pregnant and what would happen to my body, but seeing and experiencing it is a whole different story. No matter how overweight I’ve been in my life, I don’t really gain weight in my stomach. It’s stayed more or less flat. This made the first few months of pregnancy hard, body image wise, because even though I knew I was pregnant, I just felt fat and I knew that is what it looked like. Once it started shaping itself, the body image stuff faded somewhat, but it still surprises me to see the belly and it’s only going to get bigger.

I think what strikes me the most is that I finally am pregnant…that at the end of this will come not just one but two children into my life. We all have lots of dreams for our lives and for me this is the first major one that is actually becoming a reality. It’s a dream that didn’t come easily as all of you who’ve read my blog know, yet it still feels like it caught me by surprise.