The Glow

What is "the glow" and why does everyone say I have it?

I imagine streams of light beaming off of my skin and a bright, white smile like the Crest whitening commercials. But let's be honest, that's not at all what I look like, or feel like. I feel like I've gained some poundage and I'm sure that's the truth too. I'm bloated. I'm nauseous - full, blown out nauseous. I have zits not even in the T-zone! The stinkin' thing is in the middle of my cheek! Aldo said that my skin is glowing and I just don't get it.

John from church said that I was glowing three weeks ago, and that he was surprised when the following week I looked like I was glowing again. And finally last week he had the thought that I'm pregnant and got up the courage to ask me.

Today one of the young couples in our church came in with their 4-pound newborn baby girl. Aldo and I were looking at her (probably with dreamy, doe-eyed faces), discussing how small she was and how awake and aware she was. Her little hands were shaking in the air and she was wide awake listening to Pastor. Then Pastor Joe walks over and says, "I love when young couples look at these babies, should we expect some news soon?" We're the only young couple in front of him. I TURNED SO RED! On a scale of 1 to 10, it was a 13… and that's a direct quote from a person in the congregation that was sitting on the other side of the room. Everyone was looking at me. Everyone! On a regular day, when embarrassed I can turn pretty red. But pregnant, with all of this extra blood going through my body… you can only imagine. And not just that, it's supposed to be a surprise!!!!

How can this be a surprise when my body is GLOWING! It seems like everyone is noticing it. Drat I tell you! Just drat!

The Medical Explanation of "The Glow":
Pregnancy hormones make your skin produce more oil. In some situations, that's going to produce more of a glow and make the skin look soft - in other situations, people start to get acne.
Another contributing factor is the increase in blood flow. During pregnancy, your body increases the production of blood by approximately 50%. The proposed theory is that this increase in blood flow and circulation leads your face to be brighter, or more fuller.

On top of all of this, as I'm writing this post, mom comes in to ask about sending pictures to family for Christmas. I'm sure she saw the two tabs at the top of the page when I opened up the internet screen: This Little Light blog and an article on "turning beet red". At this point I'll be completely surprised if she doesn't know or even suspect that we're having a baby and announcing it Christmas day. Ugh - I dislike when surprises are ruined. :(
Thursday is coming soon! I'll let you know more then.