Parking Spaces and Bella Bands

While obviously the "Expectant Mother" parking at Bruno's is probably more intended for those women waddling a little more than me at this point in time, I actually did park in it when I got groceries the other day. And only felt a little guilty. At first. I figured hey - I can't drink alcohol or caffeine or eat imported soft cheeses or cold deli meat - by golly, I'm parking in the expectant mother's spot. You're only pregnant for 9 months at a time anyway (though I'm sure that 9 months will seem like an eternity come September and October!). Kind of funny though - my grandmother used to lend us her handicapped tag when we'd go visit her and have to go somewhere in town, and even when she was with us I felt guilty about using it, since I couldn't certainly walk fine. Guess I've grown in not feeling guilty about EVERYTHING, which is a good thing. God doesn't intend us to live in guilt, and certainly not about well-deserved parking spaces!

On another note - come week 13ish or so, I suddenly couldn't wear my "skinny jeans" anymore, and the rest of my clothes were getting noticeably tighter. Oddly enough, I'd also lost a pound since getting pregnant. I don't quite get it, but they say weird things happen to your body when you're expecting, so ok. In any case, I'd read that a lot of pregnant women think Bella Bands are the greatest thing since sliced bread. It's true! All they are are a thick ring of stretchy fabric (somewhat resembling a tube top) that you wear over pre-pregnancy unbuttoned/unzipped jeans to hold them up. Genius! I'm still not sure how exactly it works, but it does. So comfortable, and my jeans still fit great everywhere else. I'd bought a couple of pairs of pants two sizes two big, and they're still falling off of me and look ridiculous, so this was the perfect solution. I got mine from Pickles & Ice Cream on my first foray into a maternity store. I did feel slightly judged for being in there when I didn't look pregnant, but oh well. I won't be buying any of their way-overpriced maternity boutique wares anyway!