Sunday, March 18, 2007

Let the belly rubbing begin!

It seems I have "popped" over the last week or so. Where things were relatively flat (well, okay, maybe not exactly flat, but certainly not all pokey outey) before, there is a definite roundness these days.

Apparently, this is completely irresistable to some people! The last couple of weeks at church, I've had people coming up left and right, asking to rub my belly. I really don't mind so much at church, since I know everyone there, and I know everyone is excited for us. And the fact that people ask is great. I even had one lady walk up, ready to rub and say, "Oh, wait! I need to ask first. May I pleeeeeeeease?" It gave me a giggle.

However, I do remember many times when I was pregnant with Anna that I was accosted in the grocery store and/or mall by random strangers who rubbed my belly without permission, and that leads me to wonder, what the hell are people thinking? Pregnancy seems to be the only time when people think it's okay to invade the personal space of someone they've never met. I've read various possible responses to all this fondling: rub their bellies back, play dumb and ask why they're rubbing you (Oh, I'm not pregnant -- just fat!), etc. I probably could never do these things, but it sure is tempting.

So I guess I'd better brace myself for the onslaught of belly rubbers, followed by the inevitable personal questions about whether the baby was planned, how long we were "trying", whether we're finding out the sex, and how we plan to feed/clothe/diaper the baby. Also, there are sure to be some labor horror stories told (though I'm told this subject is more popular when speaking to first-time moms) and unsolicited advice given. At least with those, you can just nod and say, "Thanks! I'll keep that in mind!"

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