I no longer have a waist

It's official. I no longer have a waist. My only pride and joy - flat tummy and narrow waist have all but disappeared. I now have the body of a man - like Tumisho Masha before he was allegedly asked to lose all that weight for Top Billing. Picture Tumisho with boobs! I didn't see it happening - I was too busy focusing on my jeans, and the fact that I could zip them up. But this morning as I was getting dressed to attend a breakfast presentation called 'Species: A User's Guide to Young Men', I pulled out my favourite jeans and yep, the zip went up - with slight resistance. I smiled and did a twirl only to discover at about 90 degrees that I had developed the so-called dreaded muffin tin. Whhhhhhaaaaattttttttt!

It's the same overnight switch that comes on when you enter the 2nd trimester and you suddenly don't feel nauseous any more. Overnight, I had lost my waist. Is this the price you pay for not having morning sickness? A fair exchange I suppose. 

Time to pull out those maternity clothes my husband had sweetly surprised me with the weekend before - to apologise for being a git of course. Why else? Ladies, I've looked everywhere in Johannesburg! Maternity clothes (for when you actually have a stomach) are U.G.L.Y! Have you seen those jeans? What kind of fabric is that cos it certainly ain't denim! *shudder* Just because you're pregnant doesn't mean you suddenly lose all sense of fashion? And of course, you don't want to spend a fortune on clothes you'll only wear for a season (optimistic thinking here people)... So I've decided to have mine made - have a look at some of the designs I've stolen from international designer websites (where else?) and am having made... 

See... you can also wear them post pregnancy. Only bummer is the waiting...

Where are all the black babies?

I work on an international glossy - content on Marie Claire is king. It's our strongest selling point. And the topics that we tackle - whether international or local are universal. We can all relate right? But content does not work on its own - photos are needed - gorgeous photos which almost reach out at you, threatening to step off the page they're so gorgeous. From fashion to beauty to styled editorial shoots to gritty snapshots illustrating a story, even the pictures themselves are king.

Which brings me to my point... we all know that baby magazines all have a universal theme - one that all moms and moms to be can relate to in one way or another. The photos of the moms and the babies featured in them are lovely. The preggie moms look so perfect (with or without Photoshop) you want to kill them and the babies look like, well, cute babies. Now I'm not pointing fingers at any particular magazine even though I've posted a pic of 'FitPregnancy' but my problem with the local ones though is that I don't see any pictures of what my baby is going to look like? Or my belly? Where are all the black moms and babies in these magazines? And no, I'm not talking about cappuccino models who look like black American or Brazilian expats who have flowing mocha-coloured locks and green eyes. I'm talking about South African black women!

And as lovely as the Mocha Manual and Nubeing magazines are, I don't want to read a magazine that's 'tailormade' for black women. We're not all the same! How about a crisp magazine with fresh content featuring all types of moms and babies representative the South African population? And no - one or two in a 96-page mag is not enough. Is that too much to ask?

Google is so clever

Look at the kind of things Google people come up with. It forms part of the optional google homepage. It's obvious that the employees' creative juices are constantly stimulated and they are motivated to work because of the office environment, work ethic and of course perks and benefits: free gourmet cafeterias, swimming spa, free doctors on site, R50 000 cash back if you buy a hybrid car, free laundry service, and my favourites - onsite childcare and R5 000 in cash for take-out food to ease your first four weeks of maternity leave.

What can I say? My priorities have changed. It happens.

We didn't get the call

... which is a good thing! Apparently if they don't call you to give you the results of the blood test for checking if you're high risk for carrying a Down's Syndrome child, it means you're in the clear. We decided to have one because we'd already decided to terminate if I were carrying a Down Syndrome baby. Tough decision and not at all brave or admirable but the right thing for both of us. We went in for the tests on Tuesday and they said they'd call if the results were worrying and not if they were all good. I waited til Tuesday to exhale - you know me. I always play it safe. You know - just in case I missed the call, or the labs were busy and they didn't get round to my blood work.. I wish dads would get tested for something too. Why do the women have to go through everything? Those blood tests are painful! Yes, nothing compared to how the labour will hurt, I know. I know.

But really, what do the men go though besides the anxiety of becoming new dads? Big wow! Mine is still smoking and drinking and going out and carrying on as if his life hasn't changed a bit. Except perhaps his reading material. He reads 'Dad's Pregnant Too' (which I bought him) when he's on the lav.
Shame, I'll give him at least some credit though. He's been patient and kind with me and he's really excited about the baby coming. And he's even talking about changing nappies and... wait for it! Wearing a baby sling. Very 21st century dad!