End of Pregnancy...

As this pregnancy draws to a close, I sit, armed with a freshly purchased bottle of TUMS, and reflect back on the past 38 weeks of pregnancy. There are certainly things I will miss - and plenty of things I will NOT miss. Here is my pregnancy review:

I will miss the encouragement to "eat that other cookie, you're pregnant!" or "you're pregnant - you NEED that cheesecake. I bet it is just your body saying you need calcium."

I will NOT miss the morning sickness. Many people never deal with it. For others, it lasts a few weeks and then subsides. Other moms-to-be have it the entire time. I am in the middle - I have had it the entire time, but it is not a daily situation (so it could be worse, right?).

I will miss the happy smiles from strangers. Seriously, as a pregnant woman I receive more warm, wistful smiles than I know what to do with, and it is fantastic (not to mention the opened doors, offers to cut in line and assistance with lifting/carrying/holding things)!

I will NOT miss the aches and pains. Acid reflux (thank you TUMS, for your creation). Round ligament pain. Odd back & hip pain.

I will miss that while baby is in my tummy, it is super easy to be an excellent mother. Skip the alcohol, eat fruits and veggies, rest, light yoga work outs - and BAM, I am being a good mother. Once baby arrives, I have things like "making sure this tiny human grows up to be a confident, smart, kind, educated, non-pushover of a person with strong morals but a enough of a wild streak that allows them to experience life without getting into too much trouble" to worry about.

I will NOT miss turning down alcohol. I am not an alcoholic, but I love a good glass of wine with dinner, a champagne toast at a wedding, a cool beverage in my hand while I swim around the lake on a hot summer day...

I will miss the movements in my tummy. There is just something so surreal about watching my stomach bounce and roll. And I love that when Johnny talks to my stomach, she'll instantly start wiggling and bouncing to the sound of her daddy's voice.

I will NOT miss the feeling of "Great. I'm on the floor. How am I going to get up?"

I will miss the excitement of a specific day to look forward to. For nine months, my universe has been centered around Thanksgiving Day. After November 25, 2010 comes and goes I will just be back to wishing that time would slow down.

I will NOT miss the constant remarks on my appearance: "You look great for someone who is as pregnant as you are!" "Are you sure there is only one in there?" "You've gained, what, 30 pounds?" "Mind if I stand here and rub your belly while I talk really close to your face?" (OK, the last one wasn't appearance related, but I won't miss that either)

I will miss the name game! I love talking about names, thinking about names, creating name lists... Soon, we will just have a baby with a name and no more lists to review.

I will NOT miss the worry that something could still go wrong - I can't wait to just have the baby girl safely in my arms, where I can see her face, touch her skin, kiss her nose...

OK, well - miniature clothes have been hung, sheets are washed, diapers are ready to be changed - now I guess we just wait....

Cuteness Round Up

A couple of silly things to begin the week:

A family portrait

First story: Christopher's best buddy, Easton, is a few months older than Chris. He is currently in the place of life where he is trying to understand relationships, how people are related, etc. The other day he asked his mama, Sarah (my best friend) who his cousins are. She answered his question, and said "Oh and Christopher. Christopher is your cousin too." He laughed at her and said "NO Mama, Chrisafer is FAMILY." Cuteness.

Second story: This morning, we had the radio on REALLY low. The song that was playing had the lyrics of "I don't wanna break, break, a break break your heart..." Christopher somehow heard the words (I didn't even hear them!) and said "Mama, is someone going to break Baby HEART!?" Aaaawwww.

When 2 Year Olds Talk...

Each morning when I drop off Christopher, he asks me to sit at the pre-school breakfast table with him and his friends. I am a sucker, so everyday I stuff my 9-month pregnant body into a teeny tiny chair and sit to chat with a group of two-year-olds.

Today, the little ones were talking about their baby siblings.

"I have a baby Brody..."

"My baby broder is sleeping..."

"I have sister!"

To all this, I said: "Did you know that Christopher is going to have a baby sister soon?"

All of them stopped and looked at me with blank expressions.

Then, Christopher's friend Chase nodded and said: "Yeah, Baby Heart." (Read this story if you don't know how C came about calling Baby Girl B "Baby Heart.")

So, apparently, Christopher and his school buddies sit around and have really clear, serious conversations about their little siblings (and frequently enough to know that this baby is "Baby Heart")! How cute are they?

An Apple A Day...

I love apples (and eat one everyday) but, until recently, Christopher hasn't had much interest in them. This morning, on the way to preschool/work, he begged to hold the apple.

"I hold your apple Mama? Please?"

Since I can't resist good manners, I handed him the apple. I heard the typical morning giggles, but thought nothing of it. When I dropped him at school, he smiled and handed me the apple. It was all sticky and wet, so I turned the car light on I found little tiny nibbles marks all over the outside.

"That apple was yummy mama!"

Little stinker!

Depressing Middle of the Night Thought

So, I know I said I wouldn't whine at the end of this pregnancy, but I am a liar (just ask poor Johnny, he hears every bit of my whining).

Well, last night I was tossing and turning around in bed. It was 1 a.m., 2 a.m. and then at 4:18 a.m. I had a ridiculous thought: "I can't wait for this baby to be born so I can finally have a decent night of sleep..."

That thought immediately made me sit up straight in my bed and realize that I have a LONG time until I have a decent night of sleep. WHAA!

I want the magical ignorance of my first pregnancy back - at least back then I had no clue just how exhausted we would all be in a few weeks...

Rubbing My Tummy

Christopher will occasionally pat my tummy, but he seems unsure about the baby moving, so he never touches it for very long.

Yesterday, we were hanging out - just the two of us - playing with Halloween Play Dough. He set his portion onto the table, looked at my tummy and reached out to touch it. He stood with his tiny hand on my tummy for a long time, with a look on his face said (at least to me):

"Why does everyone rub Mama's tummy? I see nothing exciting going on." He kept his hand there for a while and rubbed a little, said "Hi Baby Heart" a few times, and asked me a few questions ("She wiggling in there Mama?" "She coming to live here with us Mama?" "Baby Heart can hear me Mama?"). It was a really sweet few moments in time...

Side Note: It is not all tummy rubs and snuggle time. Later that evening, he excitedly threw dirty, cold bath water into my face and thought it was the most hilarious thing ever - but I have to hold onto and remember the sweet moments, right?

Just One Toe?

The other day we were talking to Christopher about his new baby sister.

"Now, you get to help us take care of her. You can hug her, kiss her, tickle her, snuggle her."

"I kick her too?"

"No Christopher, you don't want to kick the baby."

He sat thoughtful for a moment and said:

"Can I kick her with just one toe?"