Walking around Manhattan the other day I realized there are four stages of "Woman Seeing Pregnant Women on the Streets."
Stage One: You don't see them at all. You're pre-kids and you don't even notice things like pregnant bellies, even though you're surrounded by them.
Stage Two: "Oh I wish that was me!" You pine.
Three: "Hey! You're pregnant! Me too! Her too! All of us! Gosh, she looks big! Do I look that big?" You're there! You're surrounded by your pregnant sisters everywhere you look!
Four: "O.M.G. I'm so so so so so so so so happy I'm not pregnant."
Needless to say, I am at stage four.
Some of us never get over Stage 2, particularly those of us who can’t have kids and are now too old for medical science anyway.
Yeah, live it up, Meg. I’m in the middle of stage 3 right now. However, your analysis is completely accurate. I’m starting to look forward to stage 4.
In stage 4 and never going back!
I once got to play straight man to a female colleague who I previously thought was pretty straight-laced. It went something like this:
Me: “wow, there sure seem to be a lot of pregnant women around here lately”
Her: “yeah, you know there’s something in the air”
Me: “What?”
Her: “Women’s ankles!”
I fell off the chair.
I am very much looking forward to stage 4 again. Oh, am I.
I’m in 3. I skipped stage 2 as deciding to go for 3 was a rather cerebral decision. I had, maybe, a couple months of stage 2 but mine was more like, “whoa. that could be me.”
Yeah, gotta say it, not all woman want children!
Almost at stage 4. Still a little nostalgic for the excitement of pregnancy even though I am very committed to only having 2 children and I have them now. I am still getting used to the idea that we’re trying not to get pregnant, now. Took a bit to get used to trying to get pregnant instead of avoiding it like the plague and now it seems equally peculiar to be back to trying to avoid pregnancy.
Stage 5 – I feel like a whale in this third trimester of twins. Look at that woman still in her first or second trimester; I miss that stage.
Stage 4! Stage 4! Stage 4! Yiiippeeeeee
I am in stage 4, having given birth ten weeks ago.
One thing that is really strange after you have a baby is how strangers treat you (before and after). It’s always strange, those first few weeks after givng birth, to go places and not have people rush to open doors and help you. When you’re pregnant (at least here in the South) it seems like chivalry is everywhere. Once you have the baby it’s kinda back to business as usual.