Dear Baby,
Wow, this letter is LONG overdue! It's 7:00am on Mother's Day and I've been up for a few hours now. You've decided that now is a perfect time to have a dance party in my belly so it's hard to go back to sleep! I love feeling you move around in there. I lift up my shirt and watch my belly jump around. It's pretty bizarre but also fascinating. Daddy has felt you rolling around in there and he said it feels like you are a professional swimmer doing flip turns. I thought that was such a funny analogy.
Your favorite place to hang out right now is up in my ribs on the right side. That's where I feel you kicking the most, and the punches come on the lower left side. You always kick more than you punch but sometimes, like this morning, you do both at the same time and my whole belly shakes. I can see how people miss this feeling after the baby is born. I love having you with me 24 hours a day and I love that I can keep you safe. Keep growing in there, ok?
We are in the process of moving out of our current apartment in Wicker Park into our new apartment in Uptown. We have loved living here but there just isn't enough room for you! This apartment was our first apartment together. We adopted our cats, George and Stella, here. Daddy asked me to marry him in this living room! We planned our wedding here and we dreamed about having a baby here. It's been a fantastic 3.75 years in this place, part of me can't believe it's ending.
But with every ending, there is a new beginning. We are so excited about our new place. We probably won't be there long enough for you to remember it on your own but we'll be sure to take lots of pictures. Daddy and some of our friends painted your bedroom and our bedroom last weekend. The result was a Tiffany Blue look in your room and a more sea greenish/blue look in our room, because there is so much more light in there. I think the wall color will look great with your crib that we just ordered. Pretty soon you're going to have furniture and you're not even here yet! How strange! We have already hung up some of your clothes in your closet and they look so cute hanging there!
I've been looking around at rugs and wall decorations as well. I'm trying not to be too girly in the decor, even though I still think you're a girl. I know if you're a boy you won't mind a girly room for several years, and the nursery is more for me than for you, but I feel like it's a good idea to wait and try to give you a say in the decorations. :)
I've been feeling really good the past few months but I think I'm starting to slow down a bit. You very rarely let me 'forget' that I'm pregnant anymore! You're as much a part of me as any other part of my body right now. I love my belly though, even if it sometimes gets in the way when I forget how wide I am! When Daddy and I were in Mexico a few weeks ago I spent a good deal of time just watching my belly and seeing you move around. It's better than TV! My belly button is stretching out which is bizarre but kind of funny. Daddy likes looking at my belly too, even though he's not always patient enough to watch long enough to see it move around. He kisses you goodnight every night and gives me belly rubs, I hope you can feel them too. He doesn't like when I poke you in there though, haha. I think it's fun to try to make you kick me, he doesn't want to bother you.
Even though we've seen you on ultrasound and I feel you every day, it's still hard to imagine what you will be like when you arrive. I picture your cousins Olivia and Anton when they were newborns and I wonder if you'll look anything like them. Most babies look like their fathers at birth, but I wonder if you'll look like me too. I secretly hope so. I'm sure you'll be a good mix of the two of us. I'm also hoping that you will inherit our laid back attitude. Our mothers tell us that we were both very calm and easy babies, so feel free to follow in our footsteps! Despite all of the wondering about you, I feel very connected to you. Some women say they feel like they have trouble bonding with their babies when they don't know the sex of the child. I haven't experienced that. You're already such a fixture in our lives, I feel like I already know you a little bit. It's kind of a silly analogy, but very appropriate for me, right now I feel like you're almost like one of my many online friends. I know a lot about you, I interact with you all of the time, but I still haven't met you in person. And even though you're not *here*, I don't feel alone because I have you around.
We have so much to do before you arrive so feel free to stay put for at least another 10 weeks. I know you'll come whenever you are ready but there's really no rush. :) I may be eating these words when I hit 36 weeks or so but I know that my belly is the best place for you right now!
Well, Baby, I've reached the rambling point in my letter writing. Thanks for being you and being my little squirmy worm in there. I love knowing that you're happy and healthy and growing. This adventure with you has already been such an amazing experience and the best is yet to come.
I love you to the moon and back.
Yours always,
Mommy
