Approved by the What’s Up Moms Medical Advisory Board
Baby is around 16 ½ inches, so think celery stalk. Or a t-ball bat. Her brain can now control her body’s temperature (that’s sophisticated!) so she’s no longer relying on just the amniotic fluid for warmth. Bones have hardened, but the skull remains soft and flex which is a good thing, since that wonderfully malleable head is what will help her shimmy down the birth canal and out of you(r vag).
We’ve already talked about belly-touchers, but right now you’re a magnet not only for hands but for comments of all stripes. It’s like there’s a sign around your neck that reads Open up the floodgates and SAY ALL THE THINGS TO ME. Your preggers belly is an invitation for people to share whatever madness comes to mind, like predictions about the baby’s gender, or exclamations of how tiny you are, how huge you are (yes, you’re sure it’s not twins ha ha ha ha good one), that you’re carrying high wow!, or carrying low wow!, plus questions about how many more babies you’ll have after the baby that you haven’t even had yet, or a quickie anecdote about their cousin’s wife’s friend who delivered prematurely and her babies were in the NICU for three months and almost didn’t live but then did, thankfully, and — FULL STOP.
Deep breath.
Such is the public nature of pregnancy; people see your belly and just get excited and loose-lipped. But… since you aren’t going to hibernate underground the rest of your pregnancy, just accept that you’ll field some nutso comments. From (usually) well-intentioned people. So respond as you please! That might mean zinging back with humor or sarcasm. #zing! Or finding a way to disengage and ever-so-politely walk away. Or how about an upbeat “Funny, my OB-gyn says we’re right on track in the size department!” And bu-bye.
And you know what? Enjoy this time. There’s an upside to all the attention which is that people tend to be really nice about shuttling pregnant women to the front of lines and holding doors and whatnot. You gotta admit, the VIP treatment can be pretty darn fun. So savor this while it lasts because once you have a baby you’re back to chopped liver status. (Not really.) (Well.) (Actually.)
