Tips and Quips

As I look at the calendar for June, filled with baby classes at Swedish Hospital and showers with many wonderful friends and family, the reality of what is to come in 8 weeks is starting to sink in. I am beginning the slow transition from feeling so healthy and energized that I could say I could be pregnant for another year to feeling quite large. As an employment consultant for adults with disabilities, my clients remind me constantly of how I look and what I should be doing to take care of myself. These jewels of humor and unfiltered sincerity have kept me smiling these last few months.

One client, sitting on a couch as I stood in front of her, reached out and poked me in the stomach, saying in an accusatory tone  "are you getting fat, or are you having a kid?" to which I replied, "probably a little bit of both." she went on to tell me that every time I went to see her husband, (another client of mine) he would come home and tell her how fat I was getting. Of course, this is exactly what a pregnant lady wants to hear :)

Another client pulled me aside at his job site with the question "can I ask you a personal question?" "Sure," I replied, "although I might not answer it." He looked at me, and asked, "are you blooming?" What a unique way to allude to the fact that I was pregnant. I couldn't help but smile, being compared to a spring flower. 

Visiting another gentleman at his office cubicle, he pointed to my stomach and says "are you having a human?" "I hope so," I responded.

One sweet woman gently rubbed my back as a I worked alongside her at Starbucks and told me how happy she was that I was having a baby. She told me that I was getting fatter, and wished me "good luck," with having the baby. 

After our weekly 'professional phone meetings,' one woman says to me "you and that baby take it easy now!"

As much as I am looking forward to our little one's arrival, I will miss some of the unique and personal interactions that have come with carrying this little guy.