Cheeky.

There's a fabulous episode of Friends, one of my favorites, where Rachel's sister Amy visits. At one point, they discuss their sister Jill's recent weight gain. Rachel asks "Hips and thighs?" and Amy shakes her head and smugly says "a** and face." Rachel responds with a horrified "ohhh!"

Poor Jill. Been there, girl. The first place I gain weight, without question, is my face. There are three McLaughlin family curses: Chubby cheeks, frizzy hair, and wide feet. I got all three. My siblings got none of the above. (Further supporting my claim that the oldest child has it the hardest.) I have always hated how quickly my face shows a fluctuation in my weight — why can't I be one of those girls who gains weight everywhere BUT her face? You can always crop your body out of a picture, but there sure isn't much you can do about your face.

Unfortunately, it looks like my daughter is well on her way to learning that lesson the hard way.


I mean, SERIOUSLY. Look at those cheeks! Although she looks strikingly similar to to her brother as a baby and he grew out of them with time. Here's hoping that happens for her as well, otherwise Nate and I might be shelling out the big bucks for cheek reduction surgery down the road. (Maybe they do mother/daughter discounts?)

Also, based on her measurements she weighs 5lbs. At 33 weeks. This is not a good sign of things to come, my friends. Not a good sign at all. I think we might be having another gigantor baby, and possibly earlier than anticipated given the fact that today's non stress test confirmed I'm already contracting (like real ones, not Braxton Hicks) on a regular basis. Oh, and I've now had two different doctors suggest a c-section. Which, I gotta tell you, I'm beginning to consider a reasonable suggestion given baby girl's estimated weight.

And now for the comparison:


Calvin at 34 weeks, Calvin at birth, Baby Girl at 33 weeks. I can't believe how similar they look in the cheeks/nose/mouth.

Can't wait to meet my sweet cheeked girl in just a few weeks!

In case you're wondering, yes — I'm handling all of this far better than I did last time. It helps knowing that ugly, obese ultrasound picture does not necessarily equal ugly, obese baby. And that my body is capable of delivering babies up to 9lbs 11oz in size. Though still praying she's smaller than her brother was...