17th week 20th week
It is a very funny feeling but it is true (well, it was for me)... once you are pregnant suddenly you want a bump. You feel fat and bloated, you can see that your whole body is expanding at the sides, your hips mainly at first (as your whole body is preparing for what’s to come) but you don’t want to look fat, you want to look pregnant. You want to share with the world your happiness.
Aside from that I also wanted people to give me their seats on the public transport, after all you are feeling extra tired and standing up starts to get you more exhausted than usual...
If you are not expecting triplets like me that might take a looong time. Actually, even for me it took a bit to start looking less fat and more pregnant... From 18 weeks to 20 weeks I don’t even have any pictures of me – I just felt too ugly and not my usual self.
It is a very ambiguous feeling because I am ultra happy about the babies, but there is this other vain part of my brain that just feels really ugly and want to at least have a good excuse to be looking so chubby.
To make things worse I was born in a country that is very focused on appearances... the number 1 country for plastic surgery: Brazil. The country of Gisele Bundchen (which by the way was pregnant at the same time as me and looking fabulous.. argh :)
For me, the whole concept of looking fat just doesn’t feel right in my head (and I can imagine that might happen to many woman as well). How many diets have we gone through and suddenly, here we are, trying to be happy that we look fat and wanting to be even more rounded so we can look pregnant? Tough job.
Anyway, around 20 weeks my wishes came true and people have no doubt I am very pregnant with my rounded belly. I get seats anywhere I go (most of the times) and when I have to face those massive toilet queues, some people tell me to go straight to the front (I was a bit shy at first but now I just got used to it as it is really tough to stand in line with this new belly and 3 babies pressing my bladder).
Still, remember this, my little piece of advice during this stage: if you are really anxious for a bump, enjoy every minute of not having one!
I am now 30 weeks and I wish I had enjoyed more the times I just looked just a bit chubby. Later on things get extremely heavy for your body and you will start thinking that you didn’t look fat at all but actually quite tiny... perhaps I should have taken more pictures while I could still fit in one single shoot :D
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