Update: It's a boy!

Shortly after having my appendix ripped from my body (okay, that was slightly dramatic but it really was a traumatic experience) we found out in October that the peanut is a he. Douglas couldn't be more thrilled and Dad is over the top excited (he bought pee pee tee pees the day he found out we were expecting!)

So it's my boy stirring in there...kicking furiously through out the day as if my bladder has personally done something to offend him. If I didn't know better I'd think I was carrying a Beckham but I won't complain...he's busy, my son...MY son. Ah the wonder of it all.

Dreams of You

When sleep finally finds its way to me
And darkness clouds my view
I patiently wait to drift to that place
Where I'm greeted with dreams of you.

I hear you giggling from afar
See your footprints down the hall,
I smell the powder I've patted you with,
And listen for your call.

But you, my baby, are resting still
Growing big and strong
And I can feel you tickling me
And pray it won't be long

Before you're here and I can feel
What other Mommies do
The realness of life's greatest gift
Creating dreams with you.

Broadway, Baby!

The baby must have heard them...the minute the nurse exclaimed "we have the baby on camera!" the little peanut started a circus worthy display of acrobatics complete with waving arms and bubbles. I proudly exclaimed, "Yep...that one is mine!" all the while waiting for the tight rope and umbrella to appear on the screen.

I cannot explain the joy that so completely consumes me when I see that tiny heart beating...when I get the reassurance all mothers need that my child is safe and sound.

This experience amazes, delights and awes me on a minute to minute basis. The only enhancement I can imagine will top this feeling is finally meeting the bumblebaby.

YAWOD

In the world of merging couples names (we have TomKat, Brangelina, etc.) I am taking it a step further and merging the two things that, as the host body of a seemingly fickle baby, have become very endearing and nickname worthy to me: yogurt and water.

No, I don't mix them...but for whatever reason they are the only two things that I can successfully keep down therefore securing my loyalty to each. I tried to be sneaky...outwit the hormones so to speak but they were wise to this prego's game. I had two slices of toast AND some yogurt, victoriously proclaiming a half hour later, "Ta-da! I have found the cure! I have a vice! I can eat to-" My proclamation was cut off but my body convulsing and the toast angrily making its way out of my stomach. I swear if bread had a face those thick country home slices would have been sticking their tongues out at me, laughing and chucking crust at my sweaty forehead.

So, I have embraced it...my yawod (which for those of you who haven't yet figured out means Yogurt And Water Only Day) because really, who am I to upset the beauty of simplicity? Who am I to complain when yogurt comes in every flavor besides big mac and is incredibly good for the body? Who am I to feel sorry for myself as I bitterly suck down what feels like gallons of water an hour only to pee them out and have to replace them? One can only chalk such nonsensical negativity up to mood swings and sporadic emotional outbursts.

But not this one.

No.

My brain assures me that I am the ONLY pregnant woman who has ever had morning sickness, water retention, frequent urination, minute by minute meltdowns and a love/hate relationship with water and yogurt.

I am the queen of YAWOD.

Strawberry Pie

Strawberries came up in casual conversation...and it was all down hill from there.
After calling Shari's restaurant (my first choice), Perkins, Safeway and Yokes I finally found an Albertsons with a strawberry pie. When I arrived I was so pleased to see that customer service is alive and well and that the cashier had taken me seriously, setting my pie aside in a bag on the customer service counter. I opened the bag with anticipation and slowly deflated as I stared at the drizzled strawberry sauce on what appeared to be very hard and very old whip topping. "This won't do," I muttered to myself, shuffling quickly back to the bakery department in my house slippers praying no one I knew would see me.

I settled on a boston cream cake with large strawberries on the top. Three large slices later I was miserable, rolling around at home unable to get comfortable. To think... I not only drove 20 minutes to get that pie but settled for temporary satisfaction of what has become a permanent craving.

A Poem for Baby

My sweet little Bumblebaby...

You are safely stirring in my womb,
Your presence known and praised;
It's only been two months, today,
But I continue to count the days.

I hear your laughter in my sleep,
I see glimpses of your birth;
And I smile, thankful, I've been blessed
With the greatest gift on Earth.

I rest my hands atop my tummy
And feel you when you flutter;
I whisper and wait to feel you calm
For it's my instinct as your mother.

You will someday know the change in me
That having you has inspired
You bring me the peace and happiness
I have needed and desired.

As you grow inside of me
Know that I am growing too...
Your body in my arms will be true bliss
But my heart's already holding you.