Advanced Maternal Age

I understand that I will not be a young mother. And I'm okay with that. I also understand that having children in your late 30s is wholly different from having babies in your early 20s. It is for this reason that I understand the label on various portions of my medical record that say "AMA" for advanced maternal age. This has necessitated some extra or more thorough tests, but has not been a big deal. If anything, we've had the opportunity to view our Bird via ultrasound fairly often so I'm not complaining.

I feel like my stomach is huge and obvious, but others do not think so. I've heard the advice to not ask a woman if she is pregnant unless you see the head crowning, so I get that people aren't going to just come out and ask me. And this is a good thing since I was once asked my due date many years ago and first thought the person was asking when my thesis was due and then realized that the person thought that my grad student pounds were pregnant belly pounds. That was fun. So anyway, I think I look pregnant, but it may not be obvious to the casual observer given my size to begin with and my winter attire.

And yet.

A couple of weeks ago when I was starting to believe that I actually do look pregnant, when my skin was looking noticeably clearer (the pregnant glow?), I was in the bathroom at church during the homily as is my pattern. (Yes, I can make it more than an hour without having to take a bathroom break, but choir rehearsal starts at 9:00, I drink a decaf, I start drinking my water, Mass starts at 10:30…..) While I am in the stall a mom comes in with her young son. He is maybe four years old at the oldest. They utilized the space offered in the disabled stall. He went first. I had finished and was standing at the sink. During mom's turn, the little one bolted from under the stall door and rushed in my direction. In his defense, my back was to him. He ran up, wrapped two strong arms around my legs, kissed my knee, and said "Nana! What are you doing?!"

I looked down at him at the exact moment that his mom came out of the stall. He was immediately horrified and embarrassed and put his hands to his mouth in that way that toddlers do when they are frozen with uncertainty. I started to apologize to him for scaring him when his mom stepped in to defuse the situation….

"Oh I'm sorry about that. He must have gotten confused because you just look so much like my mother."