Whose body is this anyway?

Isn't it strange how every day seems to drag on sometimes... but when you look back at the week, that seems to have flown by.

I am participating in Tai's first lesson to his mother: Parental Patience. You cannot hurry things that cannot be hurried.

On the physical front, I'm noticing some ungainly stretch marks on the bottom of my belly.

Because I haven't been able to see what is happening south of my belly button for several months now, I've been in blissful denial and thought I was one of the (few) lucky women who've managed to go through pregnancy sans stretch marks.

And then one day I dared to look in the full-length mirror... and staring back at me was a dizzying array of reddish marks. 'War Wounds' is what many people call them. I prefer to call it my 'Badge of Honour'.

It's absolutely remarkable what little control you have over your body, especially at the later stages when your skin is stretched and pulled in all directions. I'm retaining quite a lot of water as well, noticeably in my legs/feet and arms/hands.

I've been avoiding the scale in the bathroom for several days now. Before it was fun to see how many pounds I would put on each week.

But there comes a point where it's not funny anymore... that point was after the 40+ lbs mark for me... yikes!

I had a sudden surge of confidence this morning though and stepped on. It was more curiosity that spurred it on I think, but i was pleasantly surprised and befuddled to find that I had lost 3 pounds in the past few days. How is that possible?

It seems so silly and petty to worry about such things, especially when it is an absolutely blessing and honour to be carrying a child. Still, I think many women do worry about such things, whether or not they share it.

All our lives we've been able to have pretty much full control over our bodies, and then for a short period in our lives when we are growing another person, it all seems to go out the window!

Yesterday I met up with several of the NCT (National Childbirth Trust) ladies that we did the course with. NCT is a charity for parents and parents-to-be. They offer advice, classes and online shopping too!

Anyways, we participated on a prenatal course and met some really nice, like-minded couples. We are all due around the same time (me and another girl are on the same day) so it will be nice to be going through the same stages of parenthood together.

Anyways, the 4 of us that got together at the Blue Bar in Porthtowan yesterday was quite a sight to behold! After our leisurely lunch on the patio, we strolled down towards the sea, acquiring quite a few comments (nice ones, mind you) and stares. It isn't everyday you see 4 heavily pregnant women waddling on the beach!

It's been glorious weather lately. Sunny but bearable with the sea breeze. I'm so consumed with this pregnancy and wondering when it will end... and summer is passing me right by!

* Pics on this entry are of us on the Men an Tol walk last weekend.