It started at my very first prenatal appointment. “Do you have any questions?” my doctor asked. “I don’t think so?” I replied. “I guess after your fourth baby you kind of know the drill!” she replied. When you have your fourth baby, everyone assumes the whole shebang is business as usual. You’re on a path
This is part three of Baby Anna’s birth story. If you missed parts one and two, you can find them here: Part One Part Two – – – When I gave birth to David, my water had broken a few hours earlier, and we walked into L&D full of nervous energy and an occasional contraction.
I sat down to write this, fully planning to end at the part where I’m screaming and Tom is asking if he can just go wait outside. But then I started writing and accidentally kept writing and now this is going to be a three-part story. But I promise I won’t drag this out until
First, I need to warn you that this is very long. I’m sorry. Turns out I’m the emotional, creative type that processes with long-winded blog posts. Second, I need to warn you that at the end of this post does not end with a baby. It’s because I could not possibly fit any more words
Thomas has this funny habit of insisting we only call him Thomas. Do you have any idea how many other things you call your kids? If we say, “You’re such a big boy!” Or if I gather him in my lap and say, “Are you Mama’s sweet boy?” He corrects me — “No, I not.
Last night Tom was putting some things away in the kitchen and noticed we had tomatoes, cucumber, olives, feta, hummus, and pita. He said, “We should have a Greek night for dinner this week.” I looked up from my book and said, “If you would like to participate in family meal planning, you’re welcome to
I once read a birth story by a woman who had seven home births. The first six were by the book, but then there were complications during the seventh. Even though everything — mom and baby — was ultimately fine, she was so shaken by the experience that she elected to have her eighth child
This morning at the bus stop, one of the kids looked at me and said, “WHAT is in your belly?” Me and my belly have been at the bus stop every morning and afternoon for two weeks, but for some reason he JUST NOW realized that I’m a dead ringer for Humpty Dumpty. My first
At my most recent prenatal check-up, my doctor was asking me how I’d been feeling, and I told her what I tell everyone — mostly fine but super duper, all-the-time exhausted. We talked about my iron levels and a few other things and then she asked, “Are you getting enough sleep?” Yes. I’m mostly sleeping
Today I’m twenty-one weeks, two days pregnant, meaning (even if the baby is born after my due date) I’m past the pregnancy halfway point. Except that this is my fourth pregnancy and I know that the second twenty weeks packs a very serious wallop. Thirty weeks should be considered the halfway point. At least. Except