Funny, She Doesn't Look Pregnant!

So one of these books says that one of the strangest parts of early pregnancy is that you Feel totally pregnant but when people look at you they only see a slightly heavy chick. I go to experience what that feels like fully at the most unexpected of places: The New York City Baby Show!

Yes, we may be early in the process of researching strollers and car seats, but considering how Chronically slow and procrastinatory my husband and I are, getting a jump on things seems prudent. So, last week - as I was ending Week 12 of the Baby Countdown - we trudged in torrential downpour style rain to check things out.

Now I am one of those women who didn't believe pregnancy brain exists and thought that getting pregnant probably wouldn't change much in my daily life, other than requiring me to eat better than I have in a decade. However, since finding out I'm pregnant at about five weeks, I've been sick to my stomach every day until a few days ago. I feel bloated and crampy and Exhausted like those miners in the Powaqqatsi documentary - you know, people forced to work the mines that go two miles into the earth and carry out baskets of mud on their heads to be sifted for precious metals. Yes, I feel that exhausted. And i'm a distance runner.

So strolling up to the Stem Cord Blood reserve table - my husband and I are still hazy on what that's all about other than seeming like people who perhaps want to do something as odd as folks who eat their placenta after pushing it out their chocha. But I digress.

After telling them I was expecting in November, the woman says, "You don't look pregnant." Now, was this supposed to be a compliment to super excited soon to be parents? To tell the woman she doesn't even look pregnant? And by the way, I was wearing a hippie loose flowy top over a tank top - so of course with extra fabric, how might you tell?!!

All I know is that if you're trying to sell me something that you offer "discount coupons" for $500 off, then you should probably consider your comments.

Sigh. You know, living my whole life as a woman of color and no one believing I was capable of very much, I at least thought that being pregnant would be different. But then, people keep being surprised that my husband and I are married - he's White and I'm Black - especially since i'm pregnant. What the hell is up with that??

Pregnancy (n): the state of being hormonally incapable of dealing with nonsense, but being forced to do so anyway.