Somehow I've gained six pounds in the last three months, and I'm not really sure where they went. My pants feel looser than last year, if anything, but I don't feel like I've been pumping iron to the point that I've gained six pounds of muscle weight. I have been growing out my hair recently, so I must have very very heavy hair. I started reading Shape of a Mother a few months ago and it's fascinating to see how many shapes women come in. I can remember as a small child seeing my mother's stretch marks and associating that with being a mom, or more specifically my mom. I didn't really put two and two together and understand the stretch marks had to do with someone being in Mom's belly at some point, but I just figured that over time life make you look that way. It seemed only natural to me.

I told my mom about the web site last month in an email and later asked her if she had looked at it. She quickly replied, "oh yes, all those awful pictures!" I was really surprised. My mom was always very body positive when I was growing up and I never pegged her for being so cynical about a few stretch marks. But I think it was more of an issue that she can't imagine putting her belly on the Internet rather than anyone should be embarrassed about their belly.

I've yet to expand my belly size due to anything other than way too much dinner (see yesterday's post), but it did make me wonder if there are parts of my body that displease me. My insulin pump infusion site marks upset me. I worry that I'm building up tons of scar tissue under my belly from changing my site every three days (much in the way I worry about glaciers melting or homeless animals). I get frustrated and annoyed at all the little red dots left behind from rotating around my belly, despite covering a wide variety of locations. I've tried moving to other parts of my body (hips, legs, etc.) but they don't stay as well and are generally more painful to insert and maintain.

In contrast there are parts of me I'm quite fond of. I must admit that my ears are awesome. They're tiny and round and well-decorated. They're also very close to my freckles, which have always pleased me. So all in all, I'll take the good with the bad. And in the interest of sharing, I give you my best and worst ...

What's your favorite thing about your body?