Christmas Belly

I am now over 37 weeks pregnant, and just like last time, my belly looks gigantic. Given the time of year, I feel a little bit like Santa from "'The Night Before Christmas"... except I don't think that my belly shakes like a bowl full of jelly when I laugh; it's too tight for that, especially when I'm having a contraction, which happens often enough. It does, however, attract plenty of attention when I'm out and about; complete strangers are confident that there's no way I'm going to make it to my due date. (For the record, the doctor tells me that I'm in the 'treading water' phase. The baby is considered full term, and I'm already dilating some, so it really could happen any day- but not because my belly is huge.)

But the prominence of my 'bump' could have another benefit. The local spa which specializes in pregnancy care and pampering is having their first ever "Holiday Belly Photo Contest." The idea is to decorate your pregnant belly for the holiday, and the prizes are all considerable gift certificates to the spa; entries will go up on Facebook on December 11 or 12, and then anyone can vote for the winners.  I thought it would be fun to give it a try. I've never won anything that involved voting, and the winners won't be announced until past my due date, but hey- there's a first time for everything, and the spa has postpartum massages too.

Here is our entry, for your amusement. Even Lily helped; she sprinkled the glitter.