My son was born six weeks later. I kept my secret.
A secret baby? Sandra Bullock had a secret baby?! I chuckled a little to myself when I read THIS. If Ms. Bullock had concealed a pregnancy under her Oscar gown–now that would have been news.
But not exactly remarkable. If you would like advice on how to conceal a pregnancy under your evening gown, ask a birthmother. There are countless birthmothers out there whose survival has depended on a well-kept secret. I was one of them.
It was easy to keep my secret under wraps, aided by the fashions of 1970. The empire waist, wildly printed tent dresses, the A-line and the casual look of men’s shirts worn un-tucked over jeans or shorts. An old dress shirt of my grandfather’s surfaced at my house, and I wore it constantly. In addition to these fashion statements, I wore a school uniform for eight hours a day. A frumpy pleated skirt and a large blazer concealed a lot of things, which is the intention of a Catholic school uniform in the first place.
No one suspected. Not at the prom at the beginning of May. Not at graduation at the end of May. Six weeks before my son was born, I went away with a tale concocted to explain my disappearance.
A month later, I returned bereft–and concealed that too. Like so many of us did.
Yep…me too. I gained less than six pounds, I could see the weight moving from my legs to my belly…and under a sweat shirt, I could talk to my landlord and imagine he did not know. And I read somewhere that women like us who hid their pregnancies walked differently than the women who are proud of being pregnant…and we ended up with fewer back problems.
Too high a price.