Who is Trig Palin's Mother?

We're going to try to collect as much information as we can here, with links to where you can find it

Let's start with Trig Palin's birth on April 18, 2008 in Wasilla, Alaska.  According to the Palin family, he was one month premature.

(The information in the left column is if Sarah is Trig's mother; the right column is if Bristol is the mother. This is the first page; click here or at the bottom for later pages; click on any picture to go to its source)

If Sarah is the mom, then the story is  ...

If daughter Bristol is the mom, then the story is  ...

August 2007 - Counting back 40 weeks from the expected birth date in mid-May 2008 as the standard pregnancy, Trig was conceived in August 2007.

Sarah and husband Todd, in a moment of mature intimacy, conceive their fifth child

Bristol unknowingly enters the world of teenage pregnancy.

From August 2007 to mid-December 2007 (Week 1 through Week 18 - four months pregnant) - No public announcement of any pregnancy in the Palin family.  Sarah poses for Vogue magazine in mid-December.

On December 12, 2007, Sarah and her family pose for pictures for Vogue magazine.  Sarah has to work a bit to conceal her bump with a heavy parka.

Reportedly, Bristol is taken out of her regular high school (Wasilla High) and disappears from public sight.  Sarah still looks slim in that Vogue shoot, despite the parka.

February 5, 2008 (Week 25, five-and-a-half months pregnant) - Newsphoto taken of Sarah on February 5, 2008 ("Super Tuesday"), and published in the Anchorage Daily News.

At five-and-a-half months pregnant, it would be a real surprise if Sarah didn't have a visible pregnancy tummy - which would be showing clearly here in this newsphoto.  Women who have had several children tend to show larger sooner.  But Sarah continues to look trim, with a flat tummy, and no weight gain visible.

February 8, 2008 (Week 25, five-and-a-half months pregnant) - In Wasilla, Bristol allegedly causes a fender-bender with a car driven by 19-year-old Joshua Moffett (Moffett is cited for no registration or insurance).

In an email exchange, Joshua Moffett says that Bristol didn't look pregnant.

It was early February in Wasilla, average temps are about 10 degrees.  It seems likely that Bristol was wearing a coat, and a rattled 19-year-old wouldn't be a good observer.

February 9, 2008 (Week 25, five-and-a-half months pregnant) - Sarah appears at an Awards ceremony to hand out awards

At five-and-a-half months, Sarah still looks remarkably slender, with no obvious evidence anywhere of pregnancy.

About February 18, 2008 (Week 27, six months pregnant) - Sarah is taped on a brisk "urban hike" through Juneau

Sarah does not appear to be someone who is six months pregnant.  She took a very fast-paced walk, and easily kept up a conversation throughout. The producers of this show had posted a statement on their website that: "Regarding her pregnancy, all I can say is that it was not obvious to the three of us who were there during the filming."  For some reason, that statement no longer appears on that website.

A fit, 44-year-old, who is six months pregnant, can be expected to take a fast walk wearing heels, through the hills of Juneau without losing her breath while having a conversation with a reporter.

February 2008 (Week 27, six months pregnant) - Sarah approaches a local Alaska newsman, to insist that "It's not true about Bristol" that Bristol is pregnant

What is the big deal here?  There are always crazy rumors about public officials and their families floating around.  So Sarah was getting out in front of rotten rumor.

1) This shows that there was information about Bristol's pregnancy in February 2008, and this question is not some recent invention. Instead, local information about Bristol's February 2008 pregnancy dates back to even before Sarah's announcement of her own "pregnancy." 2) This shows that there was enough to the story (Bristol being out of school, etc.) that Sarah felt compelled to try to quash the story.

February 23-25, 2008 (Week 28, six-and-a-half months pregnant) - Sarah travels to Washington, D.C., to attend the National Governors Association winter meeting

Sarah is an active, vibrant politician.  She should not be expected to curtail a normal governor's long-distance travel just because she is six-and-a-half months pregnant.

Sarah does not show any obvious appearance of pregnancy in this group photo, nor in any of the other photos taken at the meeting.

February 26, 2008 (Week 28, six-and-a-half months pregnant) - Sarah makes a speech in Washington, D.C., regarding energy developments in Alaska

Sarah definitely looks pregnant here, in this picture taken the week before the public announcement of her pregnancy.

This is a distant shot, from behind, and all it shows is that Sarah's coat is open in the front.  This doesn't give us any information about whether she appeared pregnant.

March 3, 2008 (Week 29, six-and-a-half months pregnant) - Sarah travels to Los Angeles, for a taping of a program produced by Newsweek magazine about "Women and Power."

During this taping in Los Angeles, it's obvious that Sarah is being careful to conceal her pregnancy, just before the public announcement in Alaska several days later.

The Newsweek interviewer reports that she did not realize that Sarah was pregnant. Sarah spends the entire time on tape (30+ minutes) hunched forward in her chair - would that really be comfortable for a woman approaching seven months pregnant?  Plus, at the end of the last tape ("No Woman, No Guilt"), Palin appears to get up from her chair comfortably and easily - not what you would expect at nearly seven months pregnant.

March 6, 2008 (Week 29, almost seven months pregnant) - The public announcement when Sarah says that she is seven months pregnant.

Sarah delays making the pregnancy announcement because she did not want it to be a distraction from official business. She makes the announcement at this time because her clothes were getting snugger, and she thought the pregnancy was becoming obvious.

The reactions of Alaskans is one of "astonished" disbelief.  The front page of Alaska's main newspaper says: "Gov. Sarah Palin shocked and awed just about everyone around the Capitol on Wednesday when she announced that she's expecting her fifth child. ... That the pregnancy is so advanced astonished all who heard the news.  The governor ... simply doesn't look pregnant.  Even close members of her staff said that they only learned this week their boss is pregnant. ... People just couldn't believe the news." According to the New York Times, when the reporters who were in the room with Sarah were unexpectedly told by her, "I'm pregnant," the reporters "fell silent ... 'You're kidding,' one finally mustered." It does seem hard to believe that Sarah could keep her pregnancy from "close members of her own staff" and from the press for this long Within days, there is a report posted to the internet asking the question if Sarah is covering for Bristol's pregnancy.  The posting notes that Sarah does not appear pregnant, and Bristol has been reported missing from school for an extended period with "mono."

March 14, 2008 (Week 30, seven months pregnant) - Newsphoto of Sarah endorsing a political ally, taken a week after the announcement of her pregnancy.

Sarah still looks slender in this photo.

Even a week after the official announcement, Sarah still shows no obvious signs of pregnancy in this photo.

April 13, 2008 (Week 35, nearly eight months pregnant) - Snapshot of Sarah giving a television interview in the halls of the Alaska Legislature.

This is pretty clearly a pregnant Sarah being interviewed on the last day of the Alaska Legislature session, by a reporter from KTVA.

Well, one month after she made the announcement of her pregnancy, she has to do something to look pregnant!  How tough could it be to wear padding of some kind that makes you look pregnant?  Plus to make this believable, gain a few pounds!

To go to the second page, for the circumstances surrounding the birth and later events, CLICK HERE

In addition, the Assignment Manager at KTVA says that she worked with Sarah, and that Sarah was "definitely pregnant ... You could see it in her belly and her face."