20th
GPOYW 8m pregnant. Way back in January Tragos and I were in a thrift store in Hillcrest, San Diego, the kind that baffles a Brit with its 1000+ prom dresses and made me feel like I was playing dress-up in Courtney Love’s closet. We had recently realised I was pregnant and I was intent on finding something I could wear in late pregnancy that wasn’t a voluminous tent. I found this sparkly blue top, pulled the dressing room curtains to and had a 2min “fuck-i’m-pregnant-how-is-my-husband-ever-going-to-find-me-attractive-ever-again” meltdown. I took a deep breath, drew back the curtains and, now swamped in blue sparkles, faced Tragos. He smiled, put his hand on my tummy, said it did drown me a little but I would look great in it when I was much bigger. Gentlemen, ladies, this is the correct line to offer your newly pregnant wife. Tragos’ uncanny ability to dispel my body image fantods had triumphed again. Anyway, we went to dinner the other night and I realised I can now fill the sparkly top, in fact if I stay still and baby Iona kicks it creates a rather unusual shimmery effect. This week is apparently Iona’s peak week of activity in the womb (she still has some space to really bust a move) and I’m so excited by how strong and active she feels. Apparently she’s a few weeks ahead of schedule in terms of her growth…GO IONA!!! Observing all the changes in my body; the way my ligaments have loosened, the way my tummy button has stretched to expose skin that surely hasn’t had contact with anything since my own umbilical cord fell off…gross? Sorry. But navel gazing these days is pretty novel, nothing like a tiny creature beneath your own skin to add oomph to ogling one’s omphalos…I can’t wait to meet this little wriggler.
