Papaya...Good for the Baby

I think it's very funny how people have such different reactions and comments to the pregnancy and growing belly. I'm sure many, if not all women who are pregnant, go through this feeling that people really feel the need to comment on the growing tummy. Initially, I wasn't sure how to take people's responses and as a first timer I have been really conscious of trying to feed the baby enough for fear that I don't have enough meat on me to begin with. When I finally started to show a bit here in Ghana, one of the initial comments was "wow, you don't look pregnant at all!" and although maybe at 4 months that should have made me feel great, it instead made me fret that somehow the baby wasn't growing properly or I wasn't eating enough. In this last month, I definitely see the growth both visually and on the scale but even today, some Ghanaian women I was speaking to just dropped their mouths open in total astonishment that I am now about 5 months along. They literally could not believe it. By now, I am accustommed to these sorts of reactions and they don't bother me, but I am much more excited when someone notices the growing bump. Like in my monthly book club, a woman who barely could tell last month and had told me she thought I maybe just ate a lot before coming and was bloated, exclaimed when I walked in the door this month, "you finally have a belly!" And, I can proudly say, even my vegetable and fruit lady noticed today despite my big mama dress I was wearing. After I chose what I wanted, she, as usual, "dashed" (or gave me for free) something extra. She threw 2 papaya in my bag and said, "some papaya...good for the baby" and smiled at me. That literally made my day and I went home and immediately ate one of my papaya!