Enjoy it while it lasts: Some thoughts on motherhood.
We have 12 women in our book club, and eight of them have had babies since we started two years ago. It seems like every time we meet, someone new is announcing they are pregnant and someone else is absent because they are home with their new little ball of joy. The four of us who have not had a baby are now looking at each other with shifty eyes wondering which sorry one of us will be the next…
9 Reasons Why I Know We Are Done Having Kids
We have two kids: one boy and one girl. After one kid, my body bounced back to nearly pre-child conditions. After my second, it was similar, except one thing. Where I used to gain all my weight in my cheeks and hips, I now gain all my weight in my uterus. So I am constantly walking around looking like I am just about to make a big announcement. I never wanted to be, but I am now one of those…
Tales from the Waiting Room Vigil
A few weeks ago, my brother's baby was on the way. The baby was a week late, so it was time. By hook or by crook, this baby was coming. My brother Joe and my sister-in-law LizE were at the hospital, waiting, waiting on labor time. If normal time is tick-tock, tick tock, labor time is tiiiiiihck sigh breathe yawn tohhhhhck. It's agony to wait. So much of pregnancy is about waiting. You know the…
A prayer for Vivi
Vivi will be joining us within the week! My doctor scheduled an induction on Wednesday morning, so either she will come on her own before then, or we'll be meeting her by Wednesday or Thursday at the latest. So I realized it was time to write my prayer for Vivi. I did this for Wally Ben before he was born, so I will borrow some from that one (and a snippet from Tina Fey that just can't be topped…
My first Braxton Hicks—a reminder that she's coming soon, and I'm not ready!
I woke up at 4AM this morning with contractions. My first thought—this is new. Finally some Braxton Hicks! I never had them with WV, so the feeling was unfamiliar, but I was pretty sure these were those fake practice crampings that I've heard so much about. But then, when they continued at intervals of a few every 10 minutes, I started to think: what if this is it? What if she has decided to come…
I'm having a baby! A non-colicky, good little baby.
I was at my doctor's appointment last week waiting for the doctor to come into the room. Sitting up on the patient bed, crinkly paper noting my every shift in movement, I studied the poster on the wall next to me. It took you through the process—from sperm and egg, step by step, to when the baby comes out. I had enough time to read through all the steps, and then I got to the end. And I gasped. I…
Our little girl—oh what's in a name.
Before we found out that Wally was going to be a boy, we had a girl name picked out. So this time, leading up to the ultrasound, we decided not to talk names. If it was a girl, we wouldn't ever have to do the great name debate. If it were a boy, let the games begin. She revealed herself to be a girl, and while I was mildly annoyed at first—all of Wally's cute baby clothes we don't get to use…
On being a big brother soon, by Wally Ben
My mommy is having a baby. I just went with mommy and daddy to mommy's doctor and I got to hear the heart beat. It sounded like this: Wheoo-wheoo-wheoo, but you have to make the wind come out of your mouth when you make that sound. I felt really important to go to the doctor with mommy. When she went to the bathroom to pee in a cup, I sat in the waiting room with daddy. Since I wasn't sure if…