PREGNANT HEAD

You know a book that I really enjoyed while I was pregnant with my first? It's called Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy. Oh, man! It was so funny! My husband saw an interview with her on TV and got me the book during my second trimester with Bean. I couldn't read it sitting on the couch, because of my tendency to laugh so hard that my bladder suffered a bit.

One of the things that really stuck with me throughout my pregnancy (and all subsequent pregnancies) was the concept of "pregnant head." Have you ever heard of it? It's where your face swells up during pregnancy so that you look like your own ugly twin. I became obsessed with my facial swelling. At every OB/GYN visit, I gave my midwife the "pregnant head" definition and asked her if I looked like my ugly twin yet. I pored over photos of my face from each month, seeing if I could find any differences. I pointed out to my husband all the celebrities I noticed with prominent "pregnant head." And, then, there are those people whose faces never quite recover from "pregnant head." Oh, the horror!

Now, sometimes people get "pregnant head," and it doesn't make them look unattractive. They just look a little different. That wouldn't be too bad.

Margaret, my midwife, laughed at me every month when I went on and on about "pregnant head." Then, she got pregnant, and was surprised to find herself obsessing about the very same thing. She would look carefully in the mirror each morning, she would ask her co-workers if her face was getting puffy. I was just amused that I'd been able to pass along my pregnant neurosis.

Did I get "pregnant head"? Looking back at photos, I think I did. A little. It was most noticeable in the weeks right before I gave birth. And, I think my face went back to normal afterwards. That's what I tell myself.