Making It Real

Twenty weeks.

Making It Real

I finally worked up the courage to take a real bump photo - not just the sneaky mirror selfies I’ve been taking but hiding. Marcus held the camera and I stood there feeling completely exposed and completely amazed at the same time.

I sent it to my parents first. Mom called me crying before I could even put my phone down. “Mi corazón, you look so beautiful,” she kept saying. Dad got quiet - that scary-quiet he gets when he’s feeling too much - and finally said “that’s my grandchild in there” like it was the most profound thing in the world. Maybe it was.

Carmen texted back immediately with a photo of a onesie that says “Auntie’s Favorite” that she’d apparently already bought and was just waiting for the right moment to show me. Everyone’s excitement is making this feel so real in a way that even morning sickness and doctor appointments couldn’t. Like there’s actually going to be a person at the end of all this.

Marcus keeps looking at the photo on his phone and grinning. I caught him showing it to Derek earlier, all proud like he grew this belly himself. Men are weird, but I love that he’s as amazed by this as I am.