the story of splodge and me

There are few things that impress me

in quite the same way that pregnancy does.

Having been through it twice now,

it still hasn't lost any of the sparkle or magic for me.

What the female body goes through in pregnancy is just amazing;

the growth, the changes,

and the making of a tiny human.

When I was pregnant with the beautiful boy I didn't record my pregnancy at all

and that is something that I still deeply regret.

It wasn't a conscious decision to not take any photographs

it just didn't happen.

And that is one thing about blogging that I am extremely glad about;

my pregnancy with the beautiful girl has been captured.

* * *

Having opted for a little surprise

it's interesting to look back now

and think about the differences between my two pregnancies.

While there were a lot of similarities between the two

there were also quite a few differences.

I was a very similar size and shape with both,

with a big round bump

and no extra weight anywhere else.

I craved the same foods at similar stages.

I avoided morning sickness both times.

I had lovely clear skin and bouncy hair with both.

But while my chest did nothing at all during my pregnancy with the little man,

it seemed to balloon this time around.

My toe nails grew out all ridged the first time

but didn't this time,

and last time my leg hair grew really fast

while this time it didn't change from normal.

And I only remember this the other day,

but I had a dark linea nigra with him from 4 months pregnant

which never materialised with her.

So maybe the signs were there.

The poll that ran in my side bar sided with a pink bundle,

and the guesses that everyone made in the later stages

seemed every so slightly more in favour of a girl.

* * *

At the end of my pregnancy I felt like I had been huge forever,

I really couldn't remember how small I had once been.

And I couldn't imagine ever being small again.

I'd become so used to the huge tummy

and I just couldn't imagine not having it.

I absolutely loved being pregnant for most of both my pregnancies.

I am one of those lucky ladies

and I tend to glow in pregnancy

and on the whole it's very kind to me.

Although I have to say that I stopped enjoying it earlier this time around.

I think the novelty value doesn't play quite such a big part the second time around,

plus you are more aware of what comes at the end

and I think that made me feel a lot more impatient.

With the beautiful boy, I enjoyed the whole process of being pregnant

I even missed my bump when he arrived.

But with the beautiful girl, I was just desperate to meet the little person I was housing,

and I am exceedingly happy to not have a bump anymore.

But my body did its job fantastically.

It got my baby girl through 39 weeks and 6 days of growing,

before delivering her both safely into the outside world

where she can continue her growth for us all to see.

. . . I'm pretty sure I can't be the only one who just find that whole thing incredible . . .

Pregnancy and child birth make me feel so proud.

They are amazing.

They have their hard parts, don't get me wrong,

but when you really think about what is happening,

what the human body is doing,

what is being created

it's just . . .

WOW!!!