By now moisturising my body after a shower has taken on the potency of a ritual, an aspect of my daily administration that brings me pleasure. I remember a time, at the height of career-related stress, when tending to my skin felt tedious. I felt overwhelmed by its neediness, its desperation for hydration. It bothered me that I couldn’t travel overnight anywhere without carrying along a skin cream. About two years ago, during therapy, I made a commitment to my body to act solely in the interests of its well being. Since then I have come to love its surface area. Sometimes when I moisturise every part of me I think about the act of touching my flesh, massaging it gently, spreading the cream into my pores and I anticipate the sense of relief that will accompany me for long after. Most of the time it is about a simple post-shower ceremony, an application that involves my fingers and palms and a spreading across surface and an ensuing glow my body experiences, sometimes to the beat of a funky Spotify playlist.

Yesterday, as I was applying the Arnica oil my mother-in-law gifted me to render the skin over my belly more elastic, thereby less prone to itchy stretch marks, I thought about how well my body has been doing through my pregnancy simply because I have had to tend to it even more diligently. My navel still hasn’t turned out fully and as I begin my 32nd week, I am happy to report only two marks on either side of my lower belly that resemble lightning bolts. Because I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and have had to monitor my blood sugar daily and eliminate all forms of refined sugar from my diet and focus on consuming more complex carbohydrates I have actually lost weight. I feel fitter and have good amounts of energy. Most significantly, I do not suffer from insomnia or discomfort at night, and I wake up feeling rested. Last evening I suddenly found myself thanking my body for all its generosity. For being stable and carrying me and the baby through the last 31 weeks and offering so much strength and wisdom.