Things no one tells you about pregnancy, 2

That people will touch your stomach and you might actually like it.

(Not strangers, when they touch your stomach you are stunned and slightly horrified. And when those strangers are guests at a wedding you're working at you have no idea at all how to react so you just bare your teeth in what you hope looks like a smile and back away as quickly as you can. Sometimes right into a cocktail waiter.)

But when the people are people you know and love, it feels kind of nice. Like they're entranced by the magic that is your ginormous belly and they want to absorb some of it. Some do it with affection, some with awe, some with a touch of fear and others with complete reverence. Some reach out as if they're about to touch it then stop and hover, an inch or so away, not sure if it's ok to go any further. Sometimes I find myself sticking it out a little, reached towards the outstretched hands. Not unlike a dog who wants his head scratched. The hands of those I love are drawn irrepressibly to my belly and my belly is drawn irrepressibly to the hands of those I love. And I kind of like it.

*there's been some significant pressure round these parts for some 'pregnancy' pictures of me and let me tell you now, it's probably not going to happen. I'm too exhausted and look too much like shit to pose for pictures and N's too exhausted and too busy fixing our house to take them on the fly. But to paint a picture for you: I'm huge and spotty, nearly always to be found in leggings with food on them, most likely a fortnight past the stage where my hair should have been washed and I have a perma-scowl exactly like the kid in my last blog post.

* image by Wake the Sun