It’s a Plane! . . . No, It’s a Really Swollen Pregnant Lady! (Water Retention) A s you now know, I wanted to avoid every miserable thing that happens when you’re pregnant, but the swelling was one thing I particularly hoped to dodge. It just really scared me; like with getting fat, people can notice swelling, but unlike with fat, and depending on what body parts swell, you sometimes can’t even hide it with clothing. Let’s be honest—whether you make your living with your appearance and mediagenic-ness or not, swelling is every woman’s nightmare. And looking back on it, I can see that I was worried for very good reason. I could tell from the nurse’s expression every time I went for a checkup that I was gaining more weight than I was “supposed” to. They told me I was starting to retain water. At first, you just feel like your belly looks bloated. And good for you for noticing because it is. But then, you notice that your rings are hurting your fingers. You notice that your skin is puffing up around the rings and so you decide to take them off “for a while.”
