When someone gets pregnant in a movie we see something like this:

• Scene 1: Woman runs in to the room flushed and happy waving her magic EPT wand and everyone rejoices.
• Scene 2: Woman pukes a bit, wipes her mouth and then smiles lovingly up at her partner.
• Scene 3: We see the woman and man decorating a nursery. She has a cute bump, but not too big yet.
• Scene 4: The woman is so enormous she can barely stand up and she and her baby daddy totter off to the hospital for a nice delivery (where something extreme will happen and everyone will freak out but in the end work out just fine).

Now, I’m a grown woman and I know that things do not happen the way they are portrayed at the theater. I mean who wants to watch a movie with nine-months of the realities of pregnancy? That just doesn’t make good entertainment. And yet, I find I have these subtle expectations that are being smashed to bits by reality.

For example, today was my weigh in day. So far, I’ve gained 1 pound and 0 inches (I’m not complaining by the way, just an example). I have a small bump; however, you can’t really tell because I had the same bump pre-pregnancy (only before it was filled with things like cheese and fries instead of baby and cookies). The difference now is it is a hard bump instead of the squishy (tee-hee) quality it usually has. So, I don’t really look pregnant yet.

My subtle expectation is that I will wake up one morning and have ballooned in weight and size. I’ve been told this is true; however, I thought it was going to happen a few weeks ago around mid-week 15. My expectations are wrong. It takes a long time to grow a baby, like months! (duh, I know.)

I’m mid-17 weeks and I keep reminding myself to savor each moment. But honestly, I can’t wait until I have a cute bump and can feel the sprout kicking—any day now. For now, it’s dry toast and water to alleviate that morning sickness that didn’t magically disappear after 14 weeks. Oh the harsh realities!