How stretchy can a tummy be?

I was able to have a little lie-in today.  An extra half hour because I was going to meet my obstretic consultant for the first time.  I enjoyed raisin bran while watching Muary Povich dish out paternity test results on morning TV, and after a shower had my second breakfast while choosing an outfit that I could still squeeze into.  I dragged an old dress from the 90's time capsule in the back of my closet.  It wasn't my first choice but I hoped that a man of medicine wouldn't worry too much about my lack of fashion sense.

Turned out I needn't have worried.  The waiting room of the ante natal clinic is a cure for all wardrobe worries.  The ladies waiting with me were made up of the most unbelievable shapes and sizes.  None of us looked particularly comfortable.  The chairs in the waiting room of the ante natal clinic are more padded and slightly bigger for our comfort.  But I imagined from the looks of us, that we were all slightly out of our comfort zone being dressed in whatever fit us that day, instead of what we really would like.  Not a high heel in sight. 

A young woman called in ahead of me was dressed in an odd combination of a summertime maxi dress and a huge chunky grey cardigan.  The look on her face was pure agony and she tried to make her way to the consulting room at a decent pace.  As she stood I clocked the size of her belly.  It stood at an almost gravity defying angle.  Straight out, leading the way and throwing her off balance.

As I scanned the room I noticed a beautiful blonde whose proportions grew from the chest down to an amazing girth at the waist that easily took up two chairs.  Across from her a woman dressed in what looked like her husband's XXL t-shirt whose giant round belly seemed to be making her breathing near enough impossible. 

My time with the consultant was fine. Nothing to worry about and he seemed to be a lovely man.  We chatted a little about when I might think about starting materntity leave.   I was keen to stay at work as long as possible.

'Well,' he said, 'in as little as10 weeks you are going to be as big as most women when they are full term. Something to think about.'

As big as some of those ladies of waiting room?  Something to think about, indeed.