Week 27

Islands

It’s not really a bump any more. It’s more like a boulder. It is quite obvious to all that Jas is pregnant now, even when swaddled in the winter layers that are now needed in London. And with the boulder getting heavier, we try to visit the pool once a week so Jas can get some relief from constantly supporting the weight of our large blueberry. When floating in the pool, with most of her body submerged, Jas actually looks a little like a small treeless atoll in the water; a small, steep-sided atoll with a delicate little crater at the top of it.

Big issue

Naturally Jas was becoming more and more conscious of her size. She looked gorgeous pregnant, but she was finding it hard to feel gorgeous at times moving the increasing weight about. Out walking at lunchtime one day, Jas passed a woman who was trying to sell “Big Issue” magazines in the street. As Jas approached, the lady looked Jas up and down and cried out “Big Issue for a big lady?!” Big issue indeed! The sales pitch didn’t help Jas’ delicate self-esteem: Jas gave the lady a withering look that probably curled the pages of her magazines, and she had to restrain herself from taking the magazines from the lady and forcefully inserting them elsewhere.

On the subject of reading material, it’s not uncommon for commuters on crowded trains to peer sidelong at their neighbours book or newspaper if they’ve nothing to read themselves. I often snigger to myself at what others might think if they peered over my shoulder and viewed content of some of the books I’ve been reading lately; on the subject of labour and childbirth, I’d love to see the looks on faces that spotted section titles like “Stirrups During Delivery”, “Enemas” and “Shaving the Pubic Area”.