a little note to my litte one

Dear Nathan,

Hey little buddy! This is your Mommy. You are due in 7 weeks and we are so excited to meet you!!

I went to see the doctor today and he thinks you're going to be a big boy! We've been comparing your ultrasound pictures to your daddy's newborn pictures. You already look so much like him! That's a good thing because he is very handsome!

Memaw's been talking to you a lot lately in my belly. Have you been listening? She's been asking if you're ready to come out and play. I can't wait for you to meet her and Big Daddy. You're going to have so much fun with them! Memaw's ready to read you books and teach you all about nature and Big Daddy's ready to have a new fishing buddy! Your aunts Rebecca and Christy are so excited for you to get here! Can you feel them when they put their hands on my belly? You'll be their first newborn nephew and the oldest cousin to their children. Hopefully they'll both have lots so you'll have lots of little cousins to play with!

Your Gigi and Stanley and Papa and Mary Lou are excited to meet you too! Gigi has come to both ultrasound appointments with me. Did you know she was there? She's got a really cool pirate ship at her house that I bet you'll like to play with. You'll probably get to spend alot of time with Papa because he just built a really cool barn in our backyard that he works in sometimes. I bet he'll teach you all about his tools and tractors. You're going to love your Aunt Susan and Uncle Howard. They have a place at the beach that your daddy and I love to go to. We can't wait to take you there for your first beach visit! Maybe Uncle Howard will let you drive the boat like your brother!

We've got everything all ready for you. Your little nursery is all ready and I've started washing all of your little outfits. It's hard for me to believe that you're going to be small enough to fit into some of them, but then it's hard for me to imagine that you're very big inside my belly. Don't worry though we have plenty of clothes for you in all different sizes so you just come on out here whatever size you want to be, okay?

Your daddy and I had fun putting together your crib and changing table. We've washed the sheets so they're nice and soft. Sometimes we pretend that you're already sleeping on them. When I first found out I was pregnant with you, Big Daddy gave you a little teddy bear that's sitting in your crib waiting for you to snuggle with. Memaw and I think this will be your favorite stuffed animal and that you'll carry it with you everywhere.

I know you hear your four legged sister, Sadie, barking sometimes. She's excited to meet you as well. She's having to adjust to being an outside only dog because I started getting nervous that she would want to play too rough with you while you're still very small. She can tell that something's changing though, because she likes to smell the new baby things that we bring home like your stroller and swing. She may look a little funny and will probably steal your food when you get a bit older but I think y'all will be best buddies.

Have you been listening to the songs that Memaw, Mason and I have been singing to you? Alot of them are ones that Memaw sang when she was little and I sang when I was little, too. I think you'll really like Bill Grogan's goat and the one about swinging on a star. Your brother's favorite is the moon song. I bet he'll sing it to you the first time he meets you.

Speaking of your brother, he is really excited! He calls you, "baby Nafan" and knew you were a boy even before we did! He's very interested in how your going to get out of my belly....(let's let your daddy explain that one to him.) He'll be able to show you how to be big and teach you all about anything you want to know. His mommy is different from yours, but we hope that you'll be alot alike. Your daddy and I are very proud of him and are glad that you'll have him to look up to.

I think you'll like it a lot out here! We live in a sweet little town that your daddy and I grew up in. We have lots of family around and a lot of room to play. Our little home is ready to have a baby in it. Your daddy built our house before we even got married! We're going to be making it a little bigger once you get here so you and Mason will both have your own rooms. That will be fun for you to watch! Your great-grandparents are moving here soon so you'll get to spend lots of special time with them in their new house. Of course, we'll play at great-grandfather, Perkins', house alot too. In fact, that's probably where you'll learn to ride your bike and to fish. There's so much we can't wait to do with you!

Anything you could possibly need we're ready to give you. We have stored up lots of hugs, kisses, cuddles, laughs, tickles, sways, rocking, bouncing, love... anything you want... we're ready to give to you. We're ready to read you stories. We're ready to make you feel safe. We're ready to let you feel loved. We're ready to kiss your scrapes and bumps. We're ready to teach you new things. We're ready to watch you learn and grow. We're ready for you sweetheart. Just come whenever you can. We're ready to be your Mommy and Daddy! We love you, Nathan!

Love,
Mommy

Just a few notes about this pregnancy

Well, I've had virtually no complications. I haven't been sick really at all. (Other than feeling like someone had slipped me the date rape drug every day for 3 months or like my esophogus is on fire every day for the last 2), I've had it pretty easy. Thank GOD for the snoogle. Without it, I don't know how I would get any sleep. Of course, my husband thinks it's annoying to have a huge overstuffed pillow taking up half the bed, but don't get me started on what it would be like for him to have his hips and back sore every day from carrying around an extra 15 pounds all the time... I'd never hear the end of it.

People always ask about my cravings. For my first trimester all I wanted was pulp. I was sucking down anything with pulp in it and even ate a whole lemon one day when I couldn't find anything else. Lately, it's been BLT sandwiches. I seriously could eat 5 a day. Probably not helping my heartburn much, but they are so yummy and I never really cared for them that much before. Hopefully, next trimester I'll be back into something more healthy...

And the last thing I wanted to blog about was people's comments and opinions. I guess I asked for it when working in an industry where I see hundreds of women a week who all have their own ideas of pregnancy and what it's supposed to look like. I just wish that my salary didn't depend on my kindness to them, because sometimes it would be so nice to really let them have it. Yes, I know I'm huge, I feel huge, but what goes through someone's mind to make them think, "oh, I'll tell her how big she is because that will really make her day." No woman ever wants to hear about how big she is for any reason! I've actually gained less than the average woman at my stage and am right where I'm supposed to be according to my doctor. So, no I'm not carrying twins, I'm not going to topple over, I will be able to reach your head even with my belly in the way to cut your hair, and my ankles are not going to pop. Thanks for being so thoughtful of me, though...

There. I think that's all for now that I wanted to make sure was encrypted somewhere in cyberspace for me to look back on. It's definitely faster than actually writing it all down in a journal like I should. Please feel free to comment (unless it's about how big I am). I'm going to go make myself a blt. :)