Snuggle

Early this morning I rolled over to cuddle with Zach, and as we spooned my belly perfectly fit into the small of his back, and we nestled in for a couple hours more of sleep. A little "tap, tap, tap" came from my belly, over and over again for several minutes, our little boy letting us know that he was cuddling up too, pressing on my belly and his daddy's back.

I can't wait til he's here with us where we can see him.

Glow

My skin is glowing.

My hair is glowing.

My smile is glowing.

I often feel like my belly is glowing.

It is a wonderful feeling to know that this is what my body is meant to do. I feel strong and healthy and beautiful and every day the little presence inside me makes himself more and more known.

I'm sure I have weeks and weeks of discomfort ahead of me, but for now I have to say, pregnancy suits my body.

I haven't (yet) suffered from many of the common problems of pregnancy - cramps and headaches and heartburn and constipation and digestive problems. All I suffer from is occasional shortness of breath and one or two days a week of back pain. Generally, I feel great. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop, because this is a delight.

It feels good to show off my body and see my belly expanding and hear that other people can see how good I feel. It feels good to be doing what comes naturally. Pregnancy is finally, after months of feeling miserable, turning into what I imagined it would be.

Things I Did While Pregnant With You (Part 3)

I was teaching theatre workshops while I was pregnant with you, and you were a big hit with my students, especially the 9th graders I worked with all year. Every week they would ask me about you, what I was going to name you, how far along I was, whether I was married. You helped me out a lot in those classes. I would say things like, "If I can stand up and play this game, you can definitely stand up too," and "Don't make me shout over your voices because I don't want my child to think I have an angry voice," and "Please don't say words like b***h or f**k or n****r around my baby." I even told them that if they behaved I might let them name you (don't worry - I'm sure they knew I was kidding). Thank you.

Hungry

Hungry
Hungry
Hungry
Hungry

I love food! There is almost NOTHING that doesn't sound good to eat right now.

What used to serve as a meal is now just an opening snack.

Yay for food! Yay for food!

Favorite foods (right now):

• whole wheat pancakes with blueberries and syrup
• french fries of any sort or variety or quantity (except small)
• turkey burgers with provolone and avocado
• CHEESE!
• big, huge ceasar salads with crunchy croutons
• buckets of yogurt
• chocolate milk
• pretty much anything crunchy and salty dipped into anything creamy and salty
• cookies - but only soft and chewy cookies, not crunchy and crumbly cookies (only salty things should be crunchy)
• pasta...with cheese

I'm hungry all the time.

"A Pregnant Lady's Fantasy" taken while out to dinner with friends. The fries (clockwise: waffle, zucchini with melted mozzarella, shoestring, and pesto-garlic) were ostensibly to be shared for a party of four. Not pictured: giant turkey burger with provolone and avocado.

22 Weeks

This was taken at 22 Weeks (although I'm at 23 weeks now) and shows off the growth spurt I've just gone through. I've got a little bump, and although it hasn't netted me any seats on the subway yet, I have gotten some hillarious comments from students.

I think this is the golden period - I am feeling pretty good and have a cute little bump, but I can still tie my shoes and fit into my favorite clothes. And I get to feel my little man flipping and kicking and wriggling away, but I'm not getting jabbed in the ribs to the point I can't sleep.

I feel good. I think pregnancy suits me.