Friday, January 23, 2009

Flickr

This is a test post from flickr, a fancy photo sharing thing.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

My Belly Dancer




Baby, it is good to be back!
We now have a little girl in the making, and she is the absolute love of all my fetal sustaining parts. We have decided to name her Eden, after a brain numbing deliberation that lasted over a period of months. We have picked our inventory clean, and Eden remained, so Eden she shall be named.
The journey of a woman's first pregnancy is going to be the most individual experience she can never imagine. What in life could even compare? (This is actually my second pregnancy, but 2 weeks in, I hardly felt a difference and it was over just like that).
I came upon countless columns online of, "You might be a baby's mama if, fill in the blank..." and sure, there are a number of sure signs for a woman to know, but who can really predict or even anticipate what the actual experience will end up being?
For me, I just had that little spark fly in my brain that told me it had happened; I was pregnant. And I was ecstatic, I felt elated and like there wasn't going to be enough time to prepare for it all.
Now the time for her to be in my arms can't come fast enough. In the first several months, I went through the unfortunate circumstance of greeting the toilet face-first every single morning and before or after I had gone to bed for the night. I tried motion sickness bands, preggie teas, Preggie pops, snacking on breads before getting out of bed, I did it all, yet nothing took my nausea away, and I felt like I had been the unlucky one that you rarely get more than a paragraph on in the books. However, I at long last made it through the sick stages, and I've never felt more grateful to not have an aversion to all foods in existence. Through it all, somehow this little baby hung on.
Waking up each day to feel her kicks and movements is fascinating. Matt has been able to feel her movements already; she seems to know when he's around. Its fun to see him eyeing my ever-growing belly when he thinks I'm not paying attention. I don't consider myself a selfish person, but I really like having this experience all to myself. And at what other moment will a man's tender kiss on your bare belly have more meaning? It never gets old.
I am currently 25 weeks and 4 days along. April 29 is my expected due date, but Eden and I could both be May babies after all is said and done.