Half-Way There

Hey, have you guys noticed that children tend to start behaving differently when a new baby is on the way, or is it just me? My ‘just turned’ four year old, and my ‘soon to be’ two year old are simply driving me up the wall! Never mind the struggle for attention between the two, the constant fighting and the temper tantrums, but they seem to be acting quite strange of lates! The older one, all of a sudden has been behaving really naughty and the younger, who has been sleeping through the night since she was months old, now wakes up four and five times throughout the night crying for attention. On top of all that, I am now almost six months along, expecting another baby girl, who, by the way seems to only want to break-dance at night when I want to sleep. So you can imagine I am quite worn out by the time the sun comes up!
Three visits ago, during a follow-up ultrasound, it was discovered that I had a ‘vanishing twin’ situation. As you may recall, the scan before showed two sacs. But now, there were remnants of an undeveloped sac and a healthy developing embryo. I was kinda getting used to the idea that I might have been having twins. When the doctor said that there was now only one healthy baby growing, I had mixed emotions but quickly got over it… Afterall, I am lucky to have at least one healthy one developing!
Anyway, the first trimester blues completely disappeared the minute the thirteenth week began. The following week the little critter started to move. It was awesome – to feel your baby move inside you for the first time! And unlike the first pregnancy, I knew exactly what was going on because of having had the experience twice before. Still, it was a sobering experience – A live little human being growing inside. At the very moment it happened, I thought “Wow. A real life baby. God’s creation is so miraculous!”. It was at that point that everything seemed so real!
Now, I am what my Family Nurse Practitioner refer to as having a “proud belly’. That is, showing early and showing high and mighty. I just passed the half-way mark and my stomach looks like I am already nine months! So not only does everybody know that I am very pregnant, but my ‘just turned’ four year old and my ‘soon to be’ two year old want to know why mommy’s belly so big? Well, I explained to them. Yes, I did. There is a baby girl growing inside my tummy and when she is big enough I will go to the hospital for the doctor to cut my belly and take out the baby.
Few weeks before, I just had to know the sex so I asked my doctor to check when he was doing the scheduled ultrasound to make sure the baby was developing fine. Now, whether or not I wanted to know, the little girl was sprawled off with her legs wide open telling the world that hey, I am a girl! The doctor and I had a good laugh!
I had two previous caesarian sections because the first baby girl decided to change position to buttocks first on the exact day she was due. The second baby girl was very troublesome and caused a few complications, preterm labour and all! On top of all that, I suffer from keloids, so that nice neat bikini cut scar from the previous surgeries, started to grow during my pregnancy. In essence, I have a very obvious ‘battle wound’!
With all that said, my girls have seen me naked, and when I mentioned that the doctor will cut my belly to take out their new baby sister, they wanted to know exactly where the doctor will cut. Plus every single day they ask if the doctor is not ready to take out the baby, and my answer is that she is not ready to come out yet.
My husband now, has already accepted the fact that he will be surrounded by all beautiful girls; that he will be protector of all!
And maybe its me, but he seems to be getting on my nerves for no apparent reason! Love him dearly and I know that it is probably the hormones, but, my goodness! I have heard here and there that some pregnant women just don’t even want to be in the presence of the baby’s father, or they cant stand to even look at him, but I brushed off things like that as old wives’ tale. Has anyone had that particular experience?
What was even stranger, though, and I noticed it during the first trimester especially – my two sweet little angels and my loving darling husband – I could not bare to smell, or much less be in the same room with any of them if they even ‘thought’ about sweating, much less any other normal human body odor! Is that crazy or what?
Anyway, I am blissfully enjoying second trimester. I have gained only a total of seven pounds so far throughout my pregnancy and I feel great. At first I was a bit worried because in the previous two pregnancies, by the time I got to five months I has already gained a good 15 to 20lbs. The doctor said it was nothing to worry about. The little ‘exhibitionist’ – with her legs wide open during the ultrasound – was coming along nicely. 7 lbs only. Just fabulous!
The other plus to being pregnant for me is that my skin seems so flawless and glowing!
So, here I am enjoying being treated like a queen everywhere I go by all gentlemen, and especially the dreadlocks who seem to grin from ear to ear and call me blessed because I am carrying life itself inside me. I have dreadlocks too, and I don’t wear make-up, so that excites them a bit more! They call me “Royal”.
These days I like going to the bank, the supermarket, and even to APUA to pay bills. There is a special line for expectant moms and everybody is more courteous than usual! So, apart from a toddler, a pre-schooler and loving husband driving me up the wall, I am just peachy!
Oh, by the way, I am now searching for a meaningful, powerful, positive baby girl names with some Biblical relevance or spiritual meaning. I welcome suggestions!