19 weeks into this pregnancy and my torso has become a foreign landscape. Despite looking as if I have swallowed a melon, I still find the mommy industry’s practice of comparing one’s developing child to a piece of produce to be disconcerting. Each fruit or vegetable that our baby can be likened to in any given week gives me cause to boycott said foodstuff until our baby can no longer be compared to it. Here’s an example of the analogies that crop up in every newsletter, website, and iPod application that targets moms-to-be.

Pregnancy Tracker’s weekly size chart:

1. No size comparison in Week 1: ovulation
2. No size comparison in Week 2: implantation
3. Poppyseed: 0.02″
4. Poppyseed: 0.10″
5. Sesame seed: 0.18″
6. Grain of rice: 0.25″, 0.05 oz
7. Blueberry: 0.53″, 0.07 oz
8. Raspberry: 0.68″, 0.11 oz
9. Grape: 0.93″, 0.35 oz
10. Prune: 1.2″, 0.71 oz
11. Fig: 1.7″, 1.06 oz
12. Plum: 2.3″, 1.6 oz
13. Peach: 3″, 2.3 oz
14. Lemon: 3.5″, 3.9 oz
15. Apple: 4.1″, 4.8 oz
16. Avocado: 4.7″, 5.6 oz
17. Turnip: 5.2″, 7.1 oz
18. Sweet potato: 5.8″, 8.8 oz
19. Mango: 6.2″, 9.5 oz
20. Grapefruit: 6.8″, 13.4 oz
21. Cantaloupe: 8.9″, 15.9 oz
22. Spaghetti  squash: 10.2″, 1.1 lbs
23. Papaya: 11″, 1.2 lbs
24. Ear of corn: 11.8″, 1.4 lbs
25. Rutabaga: 12.6″, 1.7 lbs
26. Eggplant: 13″, 1.9 lbs
27. Head of cauliflower: 13.4″, 2.2 lbs
28. Chinese cabbage: 13.8″, 2.5 lbs
29. Butternut squash: 14.2″, 2.9 lbs
30. Head of lettuce: 14.6″, 3.3 lbs
31. Head of lettuce: 15.4″, 3.7 lbs
32. Head of lettuce: 15.9″, 4.2 lbs
33. Pineapple: 16.5″, 4.6 lbs
34. Pineapple: 16.9″, 5.1 lbs
35. Honeydew: 17.7″, 5.5 lbs
36. Honeydew: 18.3″, 6 lbs
37. Watermelon: 18.9″, 6.4 lbs
38. Watermelon: 19.7″, 6.6 lbs
39. Watermelon: 19.7″, 6.7 lbs
40. Pumpkin: 19.7″, 6.8 lbs