Beer gut or baby bump?

I have reached another pregnancy landmark: I am officially noticeably expecting!

Last week, while at an ice cream shop (where else would an expectant mother be?), a stranger congratulated my husband and I on our soon-to-be-bundle of joy. I was filling my cup with all manner of sweet goodness when the lady next to me glanced over and squealed, “You are SO CUTE!”
For a second, I thought she was talking about my shoes or dress, which I thought was nice but strange considering that even I didn’t think they were cute enough to deserve capital letters and an exclamation point. Then she inquired after the gender, and I realized, “Oh, she’s talking about what’s UNDER my dress!”

Up until that moment, I was pretty sure that folks not in-the-know either thought I just happened to eat an inordinate amount of food the night before, or—more realistically—thought nothing about my plump middle because, let’s be real, most of us are too worried about our own lack of washboard abs to care about anyone else’s.

It’s nice to know that what I thought looked disturbingly similar to a beer gut does, in fact, look like a baby gut instead. And speaking of guts, I was honestly surprised that the lady was daring enough to acknowledge my condition. I’ve noticed a few others shooting questioning glances towards my mid-section, but I haven’t blamed them for not asking.

Before I was expecting, unless a woman was holding her back, waddling like a duck, and eating pickles and ice cream all at the same time, I dared not inquire after her coming little one just in case there was no little one coming. However, from here on out, I’ll be more willing to venture a guess. Thanks to the brave woman in the ice cream shop, I now know there is nothing that will bring a smile to a pregnant lady’s face faster than for a stranger to recognize she’s in need of some extra folic acid and not a diet.