Hi, I'm looking for a story where instead of being already hugely pregnant, the characters actually went through slow and detailed growth. Any recommendations of these kind of stories?

It's bestiality-related, but A Boyfriend Named Comet by Janus Rain was pretty good https://www.hentai-foundry.com/stories/u...amed-Comet

https://www.deviantart.com/thereddevil34...sing-start

Shameless plug for my own story. But I think it may be what you're looking for. Each chapter is another week in the pregnancy so it's a slower burn than many other stories out there. I would appreciate any feedback.

(April 18, 2020, 1:10 pm)jorgamund It's bestiality-related, but A Boyfriend Named Comet by Janus Rain was pretty good https://www.hentai-foundry.com/stories/u...amed-Comet

This is an awesome story, really loving the slow and fantasy-ish element of it despite not into beastiality.

hxxps://www.asstr.org/~Kristen/51/bellylove.txt

This was one of my old favorites, about a widowed teacher getting pregnant
I also recommend searching for KomperaKlause on DeviantArt, specifically the Piglet series. It’s about one college girl getting revenge on her friend by impregnating her with pig fetuses; it has some weird transformations but the author is really good with details

Just remembered that if you can find any of the stories written by Stevie D. those would be 'slow' pregnancy stories. He wrote about the passage of time and the changes a woman went thru.

SISTERLY LOVE

BY STEVIE D.

I can't tell you when I first thought about becoming a nun, but the seed was planted early. I was born into a devout Catholic family and named Mary Katherine Murphy. My sister, three years older than me, was named Elizabeth. Five brothers were named Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Paul. Our family was a very loving one and religion played an important part.
Starting first grade at the Catholic school was an exciting time for me, even though my older brothers and sisters told me how strict the Sisters were. But I guess my basic nature has always been to please. When Sister Margaret every morning for our almost military inspection, I stood at attention, my shoulders straight. The other kids were scared to death but when I looked into Sister Margaret's eyes, I saw that she wasn't nearly as tough as she made out she was. A faint, fleeting smile told me that she knew that I knew her secret and a very special relationship was born.
While the other children were out playing on the playground, I was in my seat practicing my penmanship and reading skills when Sister Margaret found me. "Don't you want to go out with your friends, Mary," she asked. "I like it here," I answered and she smiled. "I know, but you have to take some time for fun, too," Sister Margaret told me. Then quite unexpectedly she bent down and kissed my forehead as my heart lept with joy.
As the years passed I thrived at St. Joseph's Catholic School. While Elizabeth moaned about having to wear uniforms I loved my white blouses and plaid jumpers. My brothers and sisters moaned every time report cards came out and mine was perfect. "You are such a special little girl, Mary. A real gift from heaven," Sister Margaret told me as she wrapped her arms around me. "Sister Margaret, I...I love you," I said timidly. "Oh, Mary sweetheart! I love you too," she said tears rolling down her cheeks.
When I was a teenager I was old enough to join the choir and discovered the sheer joy of singing. "Mary, you have the voice of an angel," Sister Veronica, the choir director told me. While my older sister was into giggling girls parties and boys, neither interested me. I guess that was when I began to consider entering the convent.
While my classmates were deciding what colleges they wanted to go to, I was doing some REAL soul searching. When I finally decided I wanted to join the convent, I called Liz at college. "I knew this was going to happen, Mary. The church has always meant so much to you. If you're really happy, then I'm happy for you," my sister told me.  Sister Margaret's door was always open to me ever since I was little. I found her sitting at her desk working, she looked older than I remembered seeing her before. "Mary, what is it, honey," she asked. "I've made a decision. I ... I want to become a nun," I told her. "Oh Mary! I've been hoping...praying that you'd make this decision. Every nun hopes to find one young woman with a faith like your's," she said as we hugged.
With the blessing of my family I went to Catholic Girls College where I majored in social work with a minor in education. I hoped to end up back home but instead I was assigned to St. Michael's in Chicago. The first time I walked into my classroom and saw my bunch of adorable six year old's I couldn't help remembering Sister Margaret and smiling. But our teaching styles were definately different. "Mary, you are an old softie," my principal told me. "But the children sure love you and they're doing great."
"With my busy schedule I didn't make it home too often, but one event I wasn't about to miss was my sister Elizabeth's wedding. I took two weeks off so I could spend my 25th birthday with my family too. Time was passing so quickly, it seemed impossible that I'd been a nun for almost eight years. When I got back to Pennsylvania, everyone treated me like I was a fragile piece of glass, but I knew how to change that. Sneaking up to my old bedroom, I found everything just the way I'd left it, even my clothes were neatly folded in my dresser and hanging in my closet.
Taking off my black habit, I pulled a pair of my old jeans up over my shapely legs and buttoned them around my slender waist just as Elizabeth walked through the door and froze in her tracks. "Look, they still fit," I said proudly. "Mom is really going to freak out when she sees you, Mary. You look the same way you did when you were a teenager," my big sister said. My mother was a bit taken back, especially when it was time for gown fittings. "This isn't fair! You have a better figure than me," Elizabeth pouted. "Why do you think they make habits so dull and baggy, silly," I laughed. "I love you, Mary. I miss you so much," my sister said as we hugged. "I love you too. I'm counting on you and Eric to make me lots of nieces and nephews to spoil rotten," I told her as she blushed.
Back in Chicago, i didn't forget the social work half of my college major. I started volunteering a few hours a week at a family planning clinic and soon I was spending most of my free time there. There were so many pregnant teenagers who didn't know what to do. I tried my best to tell them that abortion wasn't the only answer, there were lots of couples waiting for babies to adopt. The church-sponsored clinic did its best to help the young women through their pregnancies and find home for their babies.
After five happy years of marriage, Elizabeth and Eric were still childless. After undergoing a battery of tests they found that my sister would probably never get pregnant. When Elizabeth called to tell me the news, she was heartbroken. "I wanted to have a baby so much, Mary," my sister cried. "I know it's not the same, but you can always adopt," I told her. "We talked to a couple of agencies but they said it might take years to get a baby," Elizabeth told me dejectedly. "Oh Liz, I wish I could do something to help you," I said tenderly. "Maybe you can put in a few good words with your boss," she said. "That I can do," I laughed.
Just the thought of pregnant women getting abortions while my sister wanted a baby so badly made my anti-abortion stance even stronger and I found myself participating in rallies and protests at clinics that performed abortions. When a television crew cornered me ans asked why I was blocking the doors at a Chicago clinic, I told them and became a minor celebrity. "Watch out, here somes Sister with a cause," laughed Dr. Sally Jones, who donated her services at the family clinic.
My whole life changed forever in the middle of June. After a busy day at the clinic, I worked long into the evening trying to make arrangements for the four young women we'd managed to talk out of having abortions. There were only a few people left in the clinic when I went out into the darkness and started walking toward my car parked in a lot nearly a block away.
Halfway there I began to have an uneasy feeling that I wasn't alone. My heart was pounding as I started to walk faster but suddenly strong arms wrapped around me pulling me out of view of the street, behind some blooming bushes. I tried to scream for help but there was a hand over my mouth. "How does it feel, little nun. Not having a choice? That's what you fucking Catholics want to do to women--take away their choice," a man told me as he held me down against the soft ground.
In my heart I knew what was going to happen next. The class I'd taken at college said that you should do whatever it took to save your life, even if it meant not fighting back. While one of them held me down, the other ripped open the front of my habit sending buttons everywhere. Inspite of myself, I tried to scream again but his hand covered my mouth as I felt my slip being torn apart. "Look, nuns really do wear white panties," the man holding me down told the other who forced his hands under my shoulder blades to unhook my bra. "You've got nice tits, Sister," the man said as he began rubbing his rough hands over my bare breasts.
Slowly under my breath I began saying the Rosary. I knew what was about to happen and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Oh God, soon my breathing was rapid and I couldn't help squirming on the ground. When one of my rapists moved his hand to the crotch of my panties I tried to keep my legs closed but I couldn'ty. When the man began rubbing I couldn't help moaning. "Oh Sister, you are so wet! You must want it really bad," he said as he pulled my panties down around my ankles then while the other one held me down, he unzipped his pants and pulled out his stiff penis then moved his body between my knees as I prayed for God to save me from whatever was about to happen.
My heart was pounding as my rapist moved his stiff penis to my opening, when he started pushing it into me I couldn't help moaning but no one could hear me since the other one was covering my mouth. "She's really a virgin...I can feel her cherry," my rapist said. "Pop it," the other one told him. With a sudden push I lost my virginity in a flash of intense pain while my screams were muffled. Saying the Rosary again and again I tried to close my mind to what was happening to my body. "I'm gonna cum," my rapist said just before he shot his manhood into me, then the two men changed positions and I was raped again. When they were finished I was sure they were going to kill me, but instead they hurried away leaving me laying in the bushes.
Battered, bruised and half naked, I somehow made it back to the family planning center before I collapsed. "Oh my God, it's Sister Mary! Call Dr. Jones right away," someone yelled before I passed out. When I woke up I wished it was all a terrible dream but the pain told me it wasn't. "Mary, this is Sally. You've been raped. Do you think you have any broken bones," she asked. I shook my head no. "I'm going to call the police," Marge Hanley, the receptionist said. "NO! No one can find out! If my parents found out it would kill my mother," I said nervously. "We should take you to the hospital...there are some tests we should run," Sally told me. "I'll be fine. I just want to go back to the convent," I said.
Sister Veronica, my principal, was obviously shaken when she came to pick me up at the family planning center. I was still a little unsteady as I changed into a clean habit and she took me back to the convent where all of the other nuns were in their rooms. I soaked in the warm water of my bathtub until it was cold before I dried off, changed into my nightgown and went to my room where Sister Veronica was still waiting. In the middle of the night when I had a nightmare she was waiting to comfort me when I woke up ready to scream.
I tried to go on with my duties around the convent and the family planning clinic as if nothing had happened but I was a nervous wreck. "This is perfectly normal, Mary. You've been through the most traumatic experience of your life," Dr. Jones told me. Since school was out for the summer I decided to go back home to Pennsylvania to put my life back together again.
When Liz came home to spend the day with me she wasn't her old bubbly self and I had a pretty good idea what was troubling her. "Eric and I still love each other but I'm afraid if we don't have a baby we'll never really be a family. You help find homes for unwanted babies, Mary. Can't you please find one for Eric and me," she asked. "Oh Liz, you know I'd do ANYTHING for you! I'll try my best but I can't make any promises," I told her.
While I was home I took long walks to do lots of soul searching and visited all of my friends at St. Joseph's. With their help, and that of my family, I restored my faith and went back to Chicago ready to start the new school year and devote energy to the causes I believed so very much in. All that changed towards the end of July when my period was supposed to come and didn't. At first I thought I figured wrong but in my heart I knew that wasn't true. Every day at least a dozen times I prayed that I wasn't pregnant but I feared that I was. When I missed my second period at the end of August, I was sure that I was going to have a baby. Oh God, why are you doing this to me? What am I supposed to do?
On the first day of school I felt out of sorts from the moment I woke up but it wasn't until I went into our diningroom to eat breakfast with the other Sisters and smelled the aroma of cooking food that I realized I was going to be terribly sick. Cupping my hand over my mouth, I hurried back to my bathroom where I huddled over the toilet throwing up again and again. Totally drained, I splashed cold water on my pale face as I realized I couldn't ignore the truth any longer--I was a pregnant nun and I had to do SOMETHING.
"Mary, what are you doing here? It's not your day to work," Sally smiled, looking up from her desk filled with records. "I think...I'm pretty sure I'm going to have a baby," I told her as she dropped her pen. "What are your symptoms," she asked, recovering quickly. "I've missed two periods and this morning I was terribly sick," I answered as she found a specimen cup. We were both quiet as we waited for the pregnancy test to work--I think we both knew what the answer was going to be.
"You're about two and a half months pregnant, Mary. I'll make all the arrangements at Memorial Hospital," Dr. Jones said. "Arrangements," I asked. "For an abortion, Mary. You can't be seriously considering having this baby! You were raped. This pregnancy was forced on you. Even the church doesn't dismiss abortions for rape and incest," she told me. "I know. But there's a baby inside me and it didn't have any choice how it got put there. It's completely innocent, Sally. If I get rid of it, I'd never be able to work here or protest against abortions again," I said as she dropped her hands, giving up her argument.
The toughest thing I had to do was tell Sister Veronica that I was pregnant. For a few moments she just sat there pale with shock, then the elderly num wrapped her arms around me, holding me tight as we both cried. "I've always believed that God has a reason for everything, but I'm having real difficulty understanding why he's doing this to you," she told me. We agreed that no one else could find out about my condition. If the papers found out there was a pregnant nun, they would have a field day. "We still have a little time before things start happening. I want you to keep teaching and I'll talk to the Cardinal about what we're going to do next," Sister Veronica told me.
Dr. Jones reminded me that I still had a few weeks to reconsider having an abortion and I had to admit that during that time my decision was tested. Each morning my stomach began churning as soon as I crawled out of bed. Cupping my hand over my mouth, I rushed to the bathroom huddling over the toilet, holding my long red hair back as I threw up again and again until it seemed like the baby was the only thing left inside me. By the end of the day I felt so drained I went straight to bed after correcting papers and preparing my teaching plan for the next day.
Starting my third month of pregnancy in the middle of September, I began to feel more like my old self. But I couldn't help thinking about the baby still invisible under my nun's habit--a child that would be born. When it was time for my checkup, Dr. Jones had me stop by her office at the end of the day, after everyone was gone. "You've lost three pounds, Mary," Dr. Jones said when I stepped on the scales. "I was never so sick in all my life, but I'm feeling better now," I told her.
As I lay on the examining table, she moved her hands over my still slender stomach. "Your pregnancy is progressing right on schedule, Mary. I'm going to give you some prenatal vitamins to make sure the baby gets all the nutrients it needs. I want you to take them..." Dr. Jones started. "REGIOUSLY is the word you're looking for," I laughed. "Oh Mary, I wish there was something I could do to help you through this. You can't go through this pregnancy alone, there had to be someone you can talk to," she told me.
That night I curled up on my bed and called Liz. "How's my little sister the Sister doing," she asked giggling. "I'm...I'm okay. I have something to tell you..." I started. "Oh Mary, you found a baby for Eric and me," my sister exclamed and in a single amazing instant everything I'd been going through suddenly made sense. I was pregnant so my childless sister could have a baby of her own. "Yes, I've found you a baby..." I started. "Oh Mary! I want to know everything! No, maybe you better not tell me. When can I get my baby," Liz rambled excitedly as my heart filled with joy for the first time in months. "The baby won't even be here for almost seven months silly," I said moving my free had to my slender stomach.
"What can you tell me about the mother? No, you don't have to. She's probably young and single and can't keep her baby. What do Eric and I have to do now," my sister asked. "You'll have to fill out a whole bunch of papers. I'll make sure the adoption agency sends them to you," I answered. "Oh Mary, I love you so very much! I'm never going to be able to thank you for this," Liz said as I felt tears rolling down my cheeks. My emotions were really out of whack, I wondered if it had something to do with my pregnancy. There was so much I had to learn about having a baby since it was something I thought I'd never be doing.
As weeks passed I treasured every moment with my third graders, knowing it was only a matter of time before I'd have to leave them. St. Michael's was a family school, there were always a few young mothers helping out in my classroom. I couldn't afford to let them see that the nun who was teaching their children was pregnant. I knew something would start happening soon. In the morning when I showered I stood sideways in front of my bathroom mirror looking at my naked 30 year old body for signs of my pregnancy.
In the middle of my third month at the beginning October, the seasons were changing from late fall to winter in the Midwest and magically my body was changing too. After writing on the chalkboard and leaning over my little students all day, I was just aching to get back to my rooms and get out of my bra. Even though it was cold all day I was sweating all the time.
After my second helping of Sister Francesca's goulash, I hurried to my rooms, locked the door behind me and began the task of removing my habit. All the buttons were enough to teach anybody patience. Stepping under the warm water of my shower, I instanly noticed how tender my B-cup breasts were. Moving my hands lower to my wet stomach, I felt how firm it was. Drying off, I examined my shape in the mirror seeing the slight bulge in my lower abdomen for the first time. My heart was pounding in a mixture of fear and excitement as I realized the baby was starting to grow inside me.
My fourth month checkup was when everything I felt about my unwanted pregnancy changed forever. "I see the prenatal vitamins are working, Mary. You've gained five pounds," Dr. Jones told me. "Food has tasted especially good to me lately," I smiled. "I can tell, you're beginning to get a belly,"she said moving her hands then the stethoscope over it. "They baby's heart is really beating away. Want to have a listen, Mary," she asked. It was the most amazing, awe-inspiring sound I ever heard. :Oh Sally! How could anyone ever get rid of something so precious as an unborn baby," I asked as I moved my hands over my slightly swollen stomach.
That night as I lay in bed, I couldn't resist resting my hands over my unborn baby. Oh precious, if there was any way in the world I could keep you, I'd do it in a second. But I'm going to do the next best thing, I'm going to give you to your Aunt Elizabeth. She's going to love you like her very own and I'm going to be there too to love you and watch you grow up.
A few weeks later I was leaning over one of my young students helping with a math problem when suddenly I felt a tiny flutter from deep inside me. My concentration was gone.It was all I could do to keep from moving my hands to my four and a half months pregnant tummy hidden underneath my nun's habit. But there were mothers of some of my students there and I was afraid they'd spot me and figure out I was carrying a baby inside me.
That afternoon I got back to the convent just in time for Sister Marie's spaghetti and meatballs and I was STARVED. While we all talked about our days around the dinner table, I finally moved my free hand to my swollen stomach as my unborn baby fluttered away. Back in my rooms I slipped out of my habit and spent the rest of the evening in a pair of panties and one of my old yellow college T-shirts with CATHOLIC GIRLS COLLEGE across the front, only now it wouldn't quite fit over my four and a half months pregnant body and my rounding belly stuck out. I was totally intrigued about how my pregnant body was changing. Suddenly there was a knock at my door and I scrambled to find my robe and covered myself before opening my door. "Sister Ann made some brownies and wondered if you wanted some," Sister Francine said handing me a tray. Your mommy is going to teach you all about chocolate before your born, precious baby, I smiled as I took a bite after I was alone again.
Later when most of the other nuns were sleeping, I wrapped my robe around me again and snuck down the dark hallway. The light from Sister Veronica's room was shining under the door. "How are you doing, Mary my child," she asked. "I'm wonderful! The baby is moving inside me. It's such a miracle," I answered. "It is a miracle, Mary. I'm glad you've been able to see that," Sister Veronica smiled. "Pretty soon I'm afraid everyone's going to be able to see what's happening to me," I sighed. "I guess it's time to talk about what we're going to do with you until after the baby is born. There is a tiny monestary in New Mexico, it hasn't been used by the church for awhile. But it didn't take much to put it in living order for you. The caretaker and his wife have promised to look after you and there's a doctor nearby who'll deliver the baby," she told me.
"What about the adoption," I asked. "All the papers will be sent to your sister and her husband. There won't be any trace that you're the baby's mother. Do you think you can hold on until Thanksgiving vacation before you leave," Sister Veronica asked. "I'll try, but I don't seem to have too much self-control when it comes to food lately," I admitted.
Winter weather arrived full force as I moved through the second half of my fourth month, which made it a little easier to hide my condition under my loose heavy wool habits. It was a good thing because suddenly my appetite was ravenous. My unborn baby's movements were increasing too, they were gentle tosses and turns instead of flutters.
The hardest thing I had to do was call home and tell my family that I wouldn't be home for Christmas. "We're really going to miss you, Mary Katherine. But if you can't come home, the project you're working on must really be important," mom told me. "Believe me, it is," I said, rubbing my nearly five months pregnant tummy as my unborn baby tumbled inside me. "You're going to be able to come home to meet your new niece or nephew when we get the baby, aren't you," my sister Liz asked. "I'll be there as soon as I can. I fully intend on spoiling your baby rotten," I said as it moved inside my rounding belly.
"Oh my, your baby has really done some growing, Mary," Dr. Jones said as she looked at my changing shape. She wasted no time putting me through my paces."You've gained about eight pounds and your blood pressure is fine. Now let's check out your passenger," she said as I lay on the examining table. While Dr. Jones moved her hands and then the stethoscope over my rounding five months pregnant tummy, my unborn baby was moving all over the place and Sally was smiling. "I know why you have to go away, Mary. But I'm really going to miss taking care of you and you're baby," she told me. "I'm going to miss you, too. But you can do me a big favor. I can't fit into any of my regular clothes anymore," I started. "And you might draw a little attention buying maternity clothes while wearing a habit," she laughed.
The day before Thanksgiving, one of the other nuns took over my classes. Sister Veronica told everyone I was feeling under the weather. It was so hard to leave my little third graders behind but with my unborn baby tossing and turning inside me, I knew I wouldn't be alone. I packed only a few belongings since most of my clothes were already too small. "Here, Mary, I want you to have this. Use it to buy whatever you need," Sister Veronica said handing me a gold credit card. "I don't know how I'm going to pay you back for all the things you've dome for me," I told her. "Oh, Mary! I'm going to miss you so much, child. Instead of being shattered by what happened to you, you're turning it into something good for others. You're showing the true meaning of faith and love," she told me as we hugged.
Loading everything into my car, I drove to the family planning clinic  where I quickly changed out of my habit. Slipping my long shapely legs into a pair of maternity jeans I pulled them up, stretching the eleatic band over my five months pregnant tummy. Buttoning a flannel smock on, I looked at myself in the mirror. I didn't look like a nun anymore. I looked positively pregnant. "Mary, is that really you," Dr. Jones exclamed. "The one and only--or more like one and a half," I said rubbing my belly. "You look so pretty, Mary. You're glowing," she told me. "I don't know about that, but I sure am growing," I laughed. "And speaking of that, I want you to take it easy driving all the way to New Mexico. When you get tired I want you to pull over and find a place to rest. And don't forget to eat, you are eating for two," Sally added. "Yes doctor," I smiled as we hugged.
Leaving Chicago took so much of my concentration that it wasn't until I was driving through the Illinois countryside that I realized I'd left my whole life behind me for the life inside me. I couldn't help moving my free hand to my bulging five months pregnant stomach as the baby tumbled inside me. "Don't worry, my precious baby. You're going to bring so much happiness and love into the world," I told my passenger.
When it started getting dark my curved back was aching, I was starved, and boy did I have to go to the bathroom. It seemed so strange to write Mary Murphy on the motel registry, but once I peed it sure felt good to be laying on the bed as my unborn baby turned and kicked away inside me.
When my backache went away I decided to find something to eat. The desk clerk recommended a truck stop across the road. I ordered a thick burger and fries plus a tall glass of milk to build healthy baby bones. When I noticed a man a few tables over from mine looking at me, I wasn't quite sure how to react. I never attracted to much attention from men while dressed in my habit. Maybe we better let him know that I'm not exactly alone, I thought as my unborn baby kicked. Once I took off my coat and he saw my bulging five months pregnant belly he found another target.
Back in my motel room I stripped out of my maternity clothes and filled the bathtub with warm water. It seemed so strange not to have to hide my condition. After drying off from a wonderful soak, I stopped to look at my changing body. My normally unspectacular B-cup breasts were getting plumper as they began to fill with milk my unborn baby wouldn't be drinking but I tried not to think about that. My five months pregnant belly was starting to round and my belly button pushed out slightly. Looking closely, I could see a faint dark line running down the middle of my stomach. Even my hips seemed to be getting wider to support the weight I was gaining.
After a full day of driving I was really ready for bed. Wearing just my panties I crawled under the covers laying on my side so I could rub my aching curved back. But as tired as I was it was impossible to go to sleep with my baby turning and kicking inside me. "The warm water really gets you going, doesn't it, precious? I guess I'm going to have to give up taking baths at night if I want to sleep," I said rubbing my hands over my bare bulging belly.
The next morning I changed into my own clean but snug underwear before slipping back into my only maternity outfit. Combing my long red hair, I pulled it into a ponytail for the first time in ages. Looking at myself in the mirror I didn't look like a nun anymore. Rubbing the cross I was wearing around my neck next to my skin, I knew I couldn't stray away from my religion because I was pregnant. I had to use my condition to make my faith stronger.
By the middle of the next day I had left cold winter weather behind. I'd never seen such beautiful countryside before. It was just another opportunity afforded me by the baby tossing and turning inside me. Almost on cue, my stomach rumbled. "Okay precious, I guess it's time for some lunch," I told my passenger. "And to get your mommy something else to wear before she starts stinking up the place."
After living so long at the convent, I'd forgotten that the day after Thanksgiving is the busiest shopping day of the year. When I finally found a shopping mall it was so crowded I had to park a mile away and I had to pee desperately . I couldn't resist being excited since I knew that was because the baby was getting bigger inside me.
Pushing my way through an ocean of people, I finally found a maternity store, but I didn't have any idea what I needed. Luckily, a clerk much younger than me came to my aid. "This is your first baby, isn't it," she asked, touching my five months pregnant tummy as I nodded. "I'm Claudia. The best place to start is with underthings that fit right," she said, as we found new bras to fit my swelling breasts. "I'm Mary," I told her. It was really hard not to put "Sister" in front of it. Holding up a pair of maternity panties I couldn't believe it--they were giant! "I'm afraid when you're pregnant everything grows, but these are definately better," she said showing me panties that had fronts and backs held together with a thin elastic band. They were almost like a maternity thong. I couldn't help wondering what the nuns back in the convent would think of them.
Once I told Claudia I would be spending the rest of my pregnancy in warm New Mexico, we picked out a thin nightgown I could see right through before moving on to jeans and shorts with wide elastic bands and drawstrings for my growing tummy, colorful smocks that seemed to flow over me and a few maternity tank tops that clung to my skin and showed off my growing belly, and a few sundresses that left my back bare and my increasing cleavage showing. "See, you can still look sexy when you're pregnant....and you are going to be a knockout," Claudia said after I added a pair of jogging shoes and sandals. Everything was so expensive! At least I could donate them to somebody who really needed them after my baby was born.
Taking my time, I arrived in New Mexico at the beginning of December. The beauty and isolation of the countryside immediately impressed me. It had to be like the Holy Land looked when the Virgin Mary was carrying Jesus, I thought as my unborn baby kicked inside my five and a half months pregnant belly. Following my directions to the convent, I was sure I was lost, there was nothing around me for miles. Driving down a dusty dirt road, I came to a little house with children all over the place. There were wires running into the house so at least I could use their phone to get back on track.
A heavy, gray-haired Mexican woman peaked out the door as I climbed out of my car, smoothing my maternity smock down over my rounding belly as my baby kicked. "Are you Sister Mary," she asked meeting me in the front yard. "I nodded. "We've been expecting you," she said taking my hands in her big, worn ones and squeezing them. Looking in her eyes, I knew that she knew what had happened to me, and that I had a new friend. "I'm Conchita, the convent house is about 10 miles down the road. I've gotten everything ready for you. I'll ride along to show you where it is. My husband Carlos is there doing some handiwork, I can ride back with him," she said, telling an older child to watch the others.
The old convent was breathtakingly beautiful with a chapel and a huge convent house that was much too large for just me. "This is where you'll be staying, Sister Mary," Conchita said leading me to the former servant's quarters. It was getting dark already and the bed looked so inviting. I'd do my exploring after a good night's sleep.
Bright sunshine was streaming through my bedroom windows when the tosses, turns and tumbles of my unborn baby woke me from a restful sleep. "Good morning, precious! You sure are full of energy," I said moving my hands to my rounding five and a half months pregnant belly to feel my passenger do its thing. At that moment there was a knock at the front door. "Sister Mary, are you awake yet," Conchita asked before she came in with a tray full of breakfast. "Oh Conchita, this is SO GOOD," I exclamed as I ate hungerly. "The cupboards are pretty bare. I didn't know what you liked," she told me. "Lately almost ANYTHING. This is delicious," I said sipping a glass of milk. "It's goat milk. It's very good for the baby," she said touching my bulging belly.
Once Conchita headed back home, I crawled out of bed, filled the bathtub with warm soapy water then crawled in. "Oh baby, I don't think we're going to fir in this tub too much longer the way you're growing," I said rubbing my five and a half months pregnant tummy as my baby kicked up a storm. There was an old brass floor mirror that I just couldn't resist. Naked as a jaybird, I examined my changing body from all different angles. My breasts were definately filling out, maybe all the way to a C-cup and the rings around them were getting darker too. Without realizing I was fondling them, my nipples were suddenly hard and a little tingle of excitement shot through me. "Now that was interesting," I said out loud.
Slipping on a pair of maternity jeans, my rounded tummy was already pushing out the elastic band. Feeling terribly daring, I slid on a clingy tube top that highlighted my swelling breasts and went down to just my belly button. After adding my sandals I began driving to the supermarket  that Conchita told me about in Taos, about 50 miles away, with my long red hair blowing in  the wind. Mentally I made a note that I'd have to make the same trip to deliver my baby in about four and a half months.
When I finally got to the supermarket, my first stop was the restroom, I had to pee in the worst way. Walking through the isles filling my shopping cart, it seemed like everyone was looking at me and smiling and some of the guys were more than smiling...they were checking me out and I was five and a half months pregnant...and a nun. Maybe we better just wear this outfit around the convent house, I told my unborn baby as it gave me a good poke. After loading groceries into my trunk my curved back ached all the way back to the convent. "I know...I know. Your mommy is going to have to start taking it easy."
When I was at my new home, I started to pick up a second bag of groceries when I reconsidered and put it down. "Good girl," a voice said as I turned around to find a woman who looked in her 40s. "Are you Sister Mary? You sure don't look like any nun I've ever seen, even without the belly," she said. "I've been in a convent for almost 14 years. I guess I got a little carried away," I said, looking at my half bare pregnant belly. "I'm Dr. Rankin, Judy to you. I thought I'd come out to see how you were doing," she told me.
After helping me put my groceries away, Judy brought in her medical bag and bathroom scales. "Not everyone can get in to my office for checkups so I've learned how to make do. How much do you normally weigh," she asked as I stood on the scales. "About 105 pounds," I answered. "How pregnant are you," she questioned. "A little more than five and a half months," I told her. "You're a little underweight, Mary. You've only gained eight and a half pounds. But you've probably been under a lot of stress and you've just driven halfway across the country. If you polish off all of these groceries you'll be in good shape," Judy smiled.
Next I lay on the bed while my new obstetrician moved her hands over my rounded stomach as my unborn baby turned and kicked. "Your baby sure is active, Mary. Let's see how it sounds," she said repeating the process with her stethoscope. "The baby's heartbeat is loud and strong. Want to have a listen," she asked and it was an offer I couldn't refuse. "I must tell you, Mary. I wasn't expecting somebody so young and pretty. I guess that's why they make you were those habits," she smiled. Even though we just met, I found myself telling her about the rape and my decision to have the baby and let my sister unknowingly adopt it. "I can't tell you how much I admire you, Mary. I'll try my best to make this as easy as I can for you and I'll be your friend," Judy told me.
Starting my sixth month of pregnancy in the middle of December, I couldn't help thinking about the Sisters back in snowy Chicago and my family in Pennsylvania. As Christmas apporached I found myself reading the same nativity stories I'd loved as a young child with a new insight. I could imagine how my namesake must have felt--finding herself being pregnant without being married, uncertain about her future, but loving her unborn baby nonetheless.
Following my new doctor's instructions, I took it easy and soon emotionally I was feeling more like my old self, but physically my pregnant body seemed to be changing a little every day. I loved to stand sideways in front of the mirror and look at my rounded tummy and swelling breasts. I never dreamed that I would experience being pregnant. As if she sensed that I needed to be alone, Conchita only stopped by once in a while to see how I was doing and bring me delicious food.
It was the middle of the morning on Christmas day when my unborn baby woke me up with strong kicks and jabs. "Merry Christmas precious, you'll have to wait until next year to experience what Murphy family Christmases are like," I said moving my hand under the sheet to my bulging six months pregnant belly. "You may not know it yet, but there's a whole family waiting to love you and I'm sure going to do my fair share to spoil you rotten. I'll just have to do it as your Aunt Mary," I told my passenger.
I was watching Christmas programs on televison when Conchita brought me over a giant plate of turkey and all the trimmings. "Merry Christmas, little one! I know how lonely you must feel but God is looking over you and the baby you're carrying," she told me before going back to her family.
By the middle of the afternoon I WAS lonely. "But I know how to take care of that, precious. Our whole family is gathered at your grandma and grandpa's house," I told my tumbling unborn baby. "Mary! It's so good to hear your voice! How are you doing, sweetheart," mom asked. "I'm fine but I miss home," I told her tenderly. While my unborn baby turned and kicked inside my rounded tummy I rested on the couch and talked to my parents and all my borthers before Liz got on the line. "We miss you too, sis. We'll do Christmas all over again when you come home and we have the baby. Speaking of that, there's something I want to ask you. I don't know if you're getting a niece or a nephew, but Eric and I would be honored if you'd be our baby's godmother," Liz told me as the baby kicked. "I'd be honored too," I said rubbing my bulging belly.
Even in January the desert air felt as warm as Chicago in the middle of summer. A gentle breeze was blowing my curtains when the powerful movements of my unborn baby woke me up. "Good morning, sweetheart. You must really be swimming in there, because boy does your mommy have to pee," I said rubbing my six and a half months pregnant belly.
With my changing center of gravity, getting out of bed was a new adventure every day and I knew it wasn't going to get any easier in the months ahead. For that reason, I passed up the tiny bathtub and filled the sink with warm soapy water. Using two towels to dry myself off, I paused to examine my changing six and a half months pregnant body. It was still hard to get used of not having to keep my condition a secret. My face looked a little puffier but Dr. Rankin said that was normal because my pregnant body was retaining water. My upper arms and shoulders seemed heavier, Mother Nature's way of making sure I'd be able to nourish my unborn baby in the months ahead. My breasts were at least double their normal size as they filled with milk and the rings around my nipples seemed darker. My six and a half months pregnant stomach was getting bigger and rounder every day as the baby grew inside me. The line running down the middle was getting more defined too and my belly button was closing in. My hips were suddenly wider and flatter to support all of my pregnancy weight.
Weeks passed and I began to feel more at home at the desert convent and even more sure that I was doing the right thing by having the baby which was getting stronger inside my big seven months pregnant belly. Even though I rarely saw Conchita's husband around the grounds, he cleaned the chapel until it was spotless and relit the candles on altar so I could pray there. Even though kneeling down and getting up from my knees was getting more difficult with my increased girth.

As my pregnancy progressed, I did see a lot more of Conchita. Without asking she was doing more of the housework and suppying more of the meals as we became friends. After bringing me my supper, I was drying while Conchita washed when my unborn baby gave me a solid kick. "Wow! That was a good one," I exclaimed rubbing my tremendous seven and a half months pregnant tummy as Conchita smiled. Taking her hands, I moved them there, too. "I've had nine babies and it never failed to amaze me to feel life inside me," she said. "I thought this was something I was giving up for the church, I've really been blessed," I said meaning it with all my heart.
At nearly eight months pregnant, my bulging belly was bigger than I ever imagined it being. It took a real effort to struggle to my feet when I was laying or sitting down and at night it was hard to find a way to lay that didn't make my curved back ache. Usually I ended up laying on my side with my tremendous tummy resting against the mattress as I rubbed my hand over my smooth skin to coax my unborn baby to sleep. The baby was taking up so much space inside me, I had to get up and waddle to the bathroom a half dozen times each night to pee.
Bright sunshine was streaming through my open window when the baby's powerful pokes woke me up. Groaning with the effort, I rolled over onto my curved back and ran my hands down over my smooth mammoth mound. There was so much of me it was hard to believe and getting out of bed was no easy trick. I manoevered my gravid body to the edge of the mattress and tipped myself over the side, catching myself with my knee, then struggled to stand. With my elbows bent outward, I rubbed my aching back as I pushed my bare tremendous tummy out even farther. My walk had definately become a waddle as I hurried to the bathroom to pee again.
Getting dressed in my advancing state of pregnancy was no piece of cake either. Gathering clean clothes, I lowered my naked gravid body gingerly to the edge of the bed. My belly was so big it just didn't bend anymore and it was impossible to see over as I fished my bare feet through the leg holes of my maternity panties and a pair of yellow shorts. After pulling them up over my knees, I struggled to stand and pulled them up over my stretched stomach, tying the drawstring on my shorts. My breasts were so huge and swollen with milk I could see blue veins in them as I lifted them into the cups of my bra and fastened it behind my curved back. Stretching a tank top over my eight months pregnant shape, it left a couple inches of my pregnant belly bare. I just loved the way I looked pregnant!
Dr. Rankin said I should get lots of exercise to keep my body in shape for delivering the baby and there were lots of paths around the convent to walk. Conchita's husband told me about a warm mineral spring that he guaranteed would take away all my little aches and pains. Taking a blanket with me, I decided to try to find it. By the time I got there, the baby was kicking up a storm and I had to pee so bad I was afraid I'd pee my shorts if the baby kicked the wrong spot. I kept telling myself that there wasn't anybody around for miles as I kicked off my sneakers, untied the string holding up my maternity shorts, and slid them down over my slender shapely legs. Squatting down with my bent knees wide apart, I groaned with relief as the pee pushed out of me.
Spreading out he blanket beside the warm spring, I pulled my tank top over my head and unhooked my bra so I was completely naked and VERY pregnant. Wading into the spring, the water felt so good on my aching muscles and the baby liked it too, becoming even more active inside my mammoth mound. I was totally relaxed when I came out of the water and lowered my heavy, wet nearly eight months pregnant body to the blanket. The air was so warm that I was dry in no time. It felt so good just laying there naked on my side feeling the baby turn and kick inside my gravid body.
Dr. Rankin wanted to do some special tests so I had to go to her office for my appointment. Wearing a much more conservative maternity sundress, I squeezed my eight months pregnant belly behind the steering wheel and made the 50 mile trip to Taos. By the time I got there I had to go to the bathroom so bad that I knew one good kick from my unborn baby would open the floodgates.
It seemed really strange sitting in a room filled with women who had the same shape as me. I tried to keep quiet and stay out of their conversations, but pregnant women have such a bond that it was impossible. "Is this your first baby," one of them asked and I nodded. "You and your husband must really be excited," another added. I didn't tell them that the gold band I wore signified my marriage to the Catholic Church and I was a pregnant nun.
"How are you feeling, Mary," Dr. Rankin asked as I stepped onto the scales. "GREAT---with child," I giggled. "Well, your weight is finally up where it's supposed to be. You've gained 23 pounds," she told me. "I feel GIGANTIC," I exclamed. "No, Mary, that's still about a month and a half away," she smiled. "Now let's check your blood pressure." Laying on the examining table, my nearly eight months pregnant tummy was so huge I couldn't see my pointed toes anymore. My unborn baby gave some real kicks as Dr. Rankin moved her hands and then the stethoscope over my big belly. "Your baby sure likes to move around alot, Mary. Would you like to hear what a healthy baby sounds like," she asked and I jumped at the chance. "This is SOO amazing! I love my baby so much," I exclamed.
"You haven't seen anything yet, Mary. I think it's time to do an ultrasound so we can see how the baby is positioned," Dr. Rankin told me. "Ooooh, that feels good! I'm getting an itchy belly," I told her as she smeared blue gel over the mound of my unborn baby. "I'll give you some creme to take care of that and stop your stretch marks from getting too bad. You're going to get them because you were so small to begin with," she said as she moved a long wand-like instrument over my big belly.
"Your passenger is positioned perfectly, Mary. And the placenta attachment is good. You should have no problem having a natural delivery. You can look at the screen to see your baby, but you'll know what it is," Dr. Rankin told me. Taking a deep breath, I turned my head and looked at the screen to see my unborn daughter. "Look at her! She's beautiful! Is that really my baby," I asked in amazement and when she kicked, I felt it and saw it at the same time. "Mary, I know your faith is strong, but do you really think you're going to be able to give this baby up," she asked, concern in her voice. "If it was to anyone but my sister, I'd have real trouble. But I know Liz and Eric will love her like their own child and I'll get to be a part of her life, too. That's a lot more than most women who give up their babies get to do," I told her.
Starting my eighth month of pregnancy in the middle of February, I began to wonder if I was going to get any sleep for the rest of my pregnancy. While I was ready for bed, my unborn daughter was kicking up a storm inside me. Laying on the couch with my maternity smock pulled up over my mammoth mound, I rubbed my hands over the smooth surface as I felt little knees and elbows and feet making bumps. Maybe some warm milk will calm you down, I said, groaning as I struggled to stand. I just couldn't believe how huge my belly was getting, my belly button was smoothed over already and I knew it was only a matter of time before it popped out. I wished I could share this wonderful time with my mom and Liz but I knew that was impossible.
By the time the sun set I was ready for bed, stripping out of my maternity jeans and smock, I unhooked my bra and let my heavy breasts free. They were so full of milk that sometimes they leaked a little into the cups of my bra. Taking the bottle of moisturizer Dr. Rankin had given me, I lowered my heavy eight months pregnant body to my bed and propped pillows behind my aching curved back. Squirting a big dollop of moisturizer on top my tremendous tummy, I rubbed it over the vast surface of my hard smooth belly, especially at the base just below my belly button where I felt little jagged marks starting, then did the same with my breasts...I just had to be a D-cup by now. I couldn't resist wondering what my fellow Sisters would think if they saw me laying in just my white maternity panties with very pregnant body.
When I finally fell asleep it was usually from sheer exhaustion. But that had its downside too. In the middle of the morning when my unborn daughter's strong kicks woke me up, I had to go to the bathroom really bad and getting out of bed when you're carrying 25 extra pounds in your belly is no easy trick. By the time I'd worked my gravid body across the bed I was out of breath, my curved back was aching, and my unborn baby was kicking up a storm. With my feet planted wide apart on the floor and my knees bent, I pressed my hands against the sheet and groaned with the effort as I struggled to stand. With a hand covering the crotch of my white maternity panties, I waddled hurriedly to the bathroom to pee.
Rubbing the washcloth over my eight months pregnant body, I couldn't help being amazed at all the changes I'd experienced during the last few months. My breasts were oh so plump, so filled with milk that I could see blue veins in them. The rings around my lengthening nipples were now rich chocolate colored. Right between my breasts my tremendous tummy began rounding outward, my unborn daughter getting so heavy that it made my curved back ache whenever I did too much or at the end of the day when I was tired. The line running down the middle of my abdomen was more prominent and my belly button was stretched out and flattened as my bulging belly increased in size. My buttocks and thighs were heavier and my hips wide and flat to support the weight of my unborn daughter.
Drying myself off with three towels, I wrapped another around most of my naked eight months pregnant body and headed back to my bedroom where I gathered clean clothes. Lowering my gravid body gingerly to the edge of my mattess, I bent over my tremendous tummy to fish my feet through the leg holes of my cotton maternity panties...the ones that once looked so gigantic...and my maternity shorts as the baby used the opportunity to move around a little more. Getting to my feet, I pulled up my panties then stretched the elastic band of my shorts around my gigantic stomach. Buttoning on a colorful smock, I headed to the kitchen for breakfast. I never wore shoes anymore unless I went outside--I was truly barefoot and pregnant.
As the weeks passed I explored inside the convent house. Even though the nuns were gone, there were lots of traces of them left behind as to how they lived. I discovered the library and lots of interesting books to read in the afternoons and evenings when my eight and a half months pregnant body told me it was time to take it easy. I was looking around the living quarters when I found a closet filled with old habits. I really missed my life with the other Sisters, even dressing in shades of black and gray all the time.
"This is what your mommy wore before you started growing in there, precious. I wonder if there are any of these I can fit into," I thought aloud as my unborn daughter kicked powerfully. "I know sweetheart, it will have to be REALLY big." Amazingly I found one that still had some growing room along with all the accessories. I felt so much more comfortable going to the chapel and praying dressed like the nun I was.
In my advanced state of pregnancy and with the heat of the desert. I was usually tuckered out by the middle of the afternoon.When my feet and ankles started swelling up I retreated to the sofa with pillows tucked under my curved back. I closed my eyes and moved my hands to my smooth mammoth mound. I loved the way my belly felt, even the stretch marks at the base and my belly button which was starting to pop out. I was usually relatively comfortable until I got hungry or had to go to the bathroom. My unborn daughter didn't leave too much space in there.
Conchita usually made enough supper for her family then brought me the leftovers. I really enjoyed her company, talking as my back continued to ache. "Come lay down, Mary. Let me rub it for you," she offered and soon I was laying with my mammoth mound resting against the soft sofa cushion as she moved her hands over my stretched muscles. "Oh, that feels heavenly," I crooned as she touched my tummy and the baby kicked. "So does that," Conchita smiled.
I watched TV until my eyelids started getting heavy, then waddled to my bedroom, slipped out of my maternity clothes and into bed. My unborn daughter was getting so big and strong that her kicks rocked my whole eight and a half months pregnant body. I couldn't resist moving my hands to my mammoth mound to feel my baby do her thing. "Oh precious, carrying you inside me has been the most wonderful thing that's ever happened to me. Now you're going to be born pretty soon and I'm not going to be able to keep you for myself. But I'm going to do the next best thing, sweetheart. I'm going to give you to my sister who can't wait to meet you and spoil you rotten. You and I will always be close though. I'll be your Aunt Mary and we'll share a very special love you'll never understand and I won't be able to tell you," I told my unborn daughter.
With each passing day my body grew a little larger and I got even more uncomfortable. Laying in bed, my breasts were so full of milk that they ached for release. Moving my hands to my chest, I began rubbing them through my thin summer nightgown until my nipples were long and hard. Timidly I began squeezing them until my fingers were wet through the cotton material of my nightgown. Closing my eyes, I was suddenly breathing rapidly as I tugged on my nipples sending streams of milk through the air soaking my nightgown. Without warning, my body shuddered and I couldn't help moaning with a pleasure I'd never known before as the crotch of my panties was wet too.
When Dr. Rankin drove out to the convent in the middle of March for my ninth month checkup, I was almost too embarrassed to tell her what had happened. "Oh Mary, you are so precious! Your body has all kinds of sneaky ways of getting in a little practice for delivering the baby. You just experienced one of the more pleasant ones," she told me. "You'll probably start having Braxton Hicks contractions every now and then that feel like the real thing but aren't quite as strong and don't last for long."
I felt so gigantic I was almost afraid to step on Dr. Rankin's scales. "You've gained 31 pounds, Mary. That's not too bad at all. You're baby will probably weigh between six and seven pounds when she's born," she told me. Next I lay quietly on my bed while she moved her hands and then the stethoscope over my mammoth mound as my unborn daughter kicked and jabbed sharply. "Wow! That's a real poke. I think this little girl is getting anxious to come out into the real world. You should drop in a few weeks, then she can be born anytime she wants to. It wouldn't be a bad idea to pack your suitcase and keep Conchita's number by the phone. Don't worry, Mary. You should have plenty of time to get to the hospital and we'll get through this together," she told me.
Moving through my ninth month, I didn't think my belly could get any larger but it seemed to. Whenever I ate anything I got horrible heartburn and when I laid the wrong way at night, I couldn't get my breath. It took all my energy to struggle to my feet and go the bathroom and five minutes later I felt like I had to go again.
I felt like I should be doing something around the cottage but whenever I tried, my feet and ankles swelled and my curved back ached and I retreated to the couch. Conchita visited me more often bringing all my meals and doing the housework. Afterwards I moaned with pure pleasure as she rubbed my tired feet an legs and massaged my aching back. When I was about as comfortable as I could get, I rolled over so Conchita could feel my unborn daughter move inside my tremendous nine months pregnant tummy. "Oh Mary, she's going to be a real charmer," she smiled. "I've loved carrying her inside me, but I can't wait until she's born," I admitted as Conchita moved her hands over my big belly. "It won't be long, Mary. The baby's going to drop very soon," she told me from past experience.
Two days later something felt different the moment I woke up. The baby's kicks were much lower in my abdomen and my unborn daughter couldn't move around as much. She had moved into position to be born. "Oh sweetheart, I don't know if I'm really ready for this," I told my passenger, but I wasn't sure which I meant, delivering her or giving her up. Groaning with the effort, I struggled to my feet then rubbed my aching curved back, pushing out my mammoth mound even farther, then waddled hurriedly to the bathroom to pee. Washing my gravid body, there seemed to be so much skin it was hard to believe it was all me. I was so very pregnant!
After using four towels to dry off, I couldn't resist taking a pregnant pause to examine how my body had changed during my months of pregnancy. My plump breasts were so teeming with milk that often it leaked from my always hard nipples into the cups of my bra. My tremendous tummy wasn't rounded anymore, it was oblong with a dark line running down the middle to my pushed out belly button. My stomach was so gigantic I has to stretch my arms to wrap my hands around it. My hips were wide and flat, I knew I'd be using them soon to help deliver my baby daughter.
Back in my bedroom I lifted my heavy breasts into the cups of my bra then fastened it behind my curved back. Sitting on the edge of my bed, my back ached and I could hardly get my breath as I fished my feet through the leg holes of my maternity panties, my nine and a half months pregnant belly an impressive obstacle. Slipping on a sundress, I was so huge I could barely button it around my big bulging belly. Later in the morning I was making myself lunch when without warning a terrible cramp made me double over moaning as I clutched my nine and a half months pregnant stomach as I panted to get my breath back. Finding my way to a kitchen chair, I waited for the next one to come but it didn't. It was just another Braxton Hicks.
A week later I felt about as pregnant as a woman could possibly get. Every movement I made seemed to take so much effort, my tremendous tummy felt so very heavy. I tried to rest as much as I could, propping my feet up and keeping pillows tucked under my aching curved back. Despite all my trials and tribulations, my faith was growing stronger. When I woke up early on a Sunday morning, I knew I just had to go to the chapel and pray for God's strength to help me through the delivery of my unborn daughter and giving her away.
Slipping on my bra and maternity panties, I sat down on the edge of my bed and bent over my tremendous oblong stomach to stick my toes in the gray wool leggings I'd found as my curved back was killing me already. Struggling to my feet, I pulled them up over my shapely legs then the elastic took hold. The black habit would barely button over my tremendous pregnant tummy. I slipped on my flat black shoes, put my veil in place, then waddled across the convent grounds to the beautiful chapel.
Making the sign of the cross, I placed my hands on the railing at the altar and lowered my heavy pregnant body gingerly to kneel down on my knees. My nine and a half months pregnant belly was so gigantic it touched the cushion my knees were resting wide apart on. Right in the middle of my prayer I began to feel funny, then without warning I felt warm liquid gushing out of me, soaking my maternity panties, my habit and the cushion under me. My heart began pounding as I realized my water had broken. Before I could do anything, I felt growing pressure in my lower back. I started to try to stand when the pain knifed around my sides making me double over so hard I hit my head on the altar railing as I clutched my tremendous tummy and the groan coming out of my throat echoed through the tiny chapel.
Panting to get my breath back, I braced my hands against the railing and pushed my heavy nine and a half months pregnant body to my feet. I didn't even get to the back of the chapel before I felt the pressure building again. When the contraction hit I leaned my back against a pew and folded over my mammoth mound. "Oh God, please help me! It hurts so much," I whispered out loud.
I had to get back to the cottage and on to the hospital to have my unborn daughter. But I didn't make it too far before I felt another contraction starting to build. Then it hit--so much pressure in my lower abdomen and deep inside my wide hips. When it hit I couldn't stand, couldn't breathe! Dropping to a crouch in the middle of the grass, I wanted to push. Maybe just one won't hurt, I told myself as I gave in to the powerful urge to bear down, gritting my teeth as an animal-like grunt came out of my throat.
Struggling to stand again, I moved towards the cottage with one hand on my tremendous oblong tummy and the other rubbing my aching back. Oh Lord, not again! I could feel the pressure coming back again. Using all my strength I tried to run to the cottage but when the contraction hit, I doubled over my giant stomach as I lost my balance and slipped to the ground. I was on all fours when the force of the powerful contraction wracked my body. Moving my legging clad knees as wide apart as I could under the long habit, I moved a hand to my hard oblong mound as I couldn't keep from pushing again.
Another one came before I crawled to the porch of the cottage and somehow managed to struggle to my feet. Beads of sweat were breaking out on my forehead, under my veil. I already knew my labor pains were coming to close and were too strong for me to drive to the hospital. I had to get Conchita to come over and help me deliver my unborn daughter. Fighting my way through another contraction, I picked up the receiver and hurriedly dialed Conchita's number. "Oh please be there," I whispered but no one answered. They were probably at church and wouldn't be home for hours. Pressure was building again as I frantically dialed Dr. Rankin's number, but I got her answering machine. She wasn't home! My heart was hammering in my chest as I realized the only help I was going to have to deliver my unborn baby was going to come from God.
When the contraction hit it was so strong it dropped me to the floor as I doubled over pushing. I realized suddenly that I wasn't going anyplace until my daughter was born. Panting to get my breath back, it seemed to take me forever to undo all the buttons on my sweat-drenched habit. Oh God, the intense pressure was back in my lower abdomen and deep inside my wide hips. Cradling my hands under the base of my mammoth mound, when the labor pain hit I pulled back again and again groaning as I felt my unborn daughter slide into my birth canal.
After that the contractions changed dramatically. They were long, powerful ones that made me bear down to expel my unborn daughter's body from inside mine. With my knees wide apart and my feet planted flat on the kitchen floor, I moved the heels of my hands under my breasts to where my tremendous tummy began. When contractions hit, I gritted my teeth then groaned as I beared down, pushing so hard I lifted my rear off the habit that was laying underneath me. Hours seemed to pass as the contractions wracking my body got closer and stronger as I struggled to nudge my daughter closer to being born. "Oh God, please help me! I don't know how much more I can take. It hurts so very much," I whispered.
Then I could feel it happening. The baby's head was close to my fully dilated opening. It took all my strength to lift my bottom off the floor long enough to pull my soaked maternity panties down around my ankles and move my heavy laboring pregnant body so I was leaning against the wall in a half sitting position. When the next contraction hit I wrapped my hands around the backs of my gray legging-clad thighs then groaned then grunted hoarsely as I pushed with all my might. Oh Lord, my daughter's head moved to my opening but slid back into me as I collapsed to gather my strength again.
Even more determined, I beared down again, pushing as the baby's head crowned my dilated opening. It was such a strange sensation. I felt like my middle was being torn apart. On the next contraction I took a deep breath and pushed, groaning then grunting hoarsely then screaming as my unborn daughter's head pushed out of me in a gush of fluid. I suddenly felt so lightheaded I feared I was going to faint, but I knew my job wasn't over. Struggling to sit up, I supported my nearly-born baby's head until the next contraction hit. Turning the shoulders carefully, I pulled her tiny red body from mine as she was already using her healthy little lungs crying for all she was worth.
Just after the afterbirth came, Conchita hurried through the door and found the two of us. After she cut the cord and made sure my daughter and I were okay, she me cleaned up and off to bed. When I woke up Dr. Rankin was sitting beside the bed holding the baby. "How are you feeling, Mary," she asked. "A little sore but a lot thinner," I said. "Your daughter is a real sweetheart, all eight pounds three ounces of her. Do you want to hold your baby," she asked handing me the tiny bundle.
"Oh, she's so beautiful! She's such a miracle," I whispered in awe as I held her body close to me and she began to stir awake, reaching out her little red arm as she began to cry. "What's the matter," I asked nervously. "I think your daughter's hungry," Conchita smiled. "Boy do I know how to take care of that," I laughed as my moved my newborn daughter to my milk filled breast and she began sucking away. "Oh, this is so wonderful," I whispered as tears streaked down my cheeks. "I'm so glad you've had a chance to experience this, Mary," Dr. Rankin said tenderly as I kissed my newborn daughter's tiny forehead and held her close.
I'll always remember the two days I got to spend with my daughter before she went to Liz and Eric and I returned to the convent in Chicago. My sister was instantly in love with the baby and just loved being a mother. "She's such a miracle! Mom says it's really amazing, she looks just like you and me when we were babies," Liz bubbled.
It was almost a month later before I worked myself back to my usual 95 pounds and went home to Pennsylvania to meet my new "niece." She was crying as Liz held her like a very overprotective mother. "Well, here she is. Since you've given us a child we couldn't have, Eric and I decided to do the same for you. Your God daughter's name is Mary Kate and I'm going to be real disappointed if you don't spoil her rotten," she said as we were crying along with the baby. It felt wonderful to be holding my daugther in my arms again. As if she could sense it was me, Mary Kate immediately quieted down. "Will you look at that," mom exclaimed. "I know you've always had a way with children, sis, but gee," my sister smiled.
But the miracle of baby Mary Kate didn't end there. She was seven months old when I got a telephone call from Liz. "Guess what, Mary! I'm pregnant," she bubbled. "I thought that was impossible," I said. "The doctor said that sometimes when all the pressure is off, things just happen," she told me. "If it hadn't been for you and Mary Kate I might never have gotten pregnant." At that moment the final picture was put in place and everything I'd been through was worth it.
THE END