The Pregnancy Experience

Each pregnancy a woman has is different for her. That's probably a no brainer, right? Most people, especially women, would say they understand this concept. Most of the time, however, they are referring to the pregnancy itself. Maybe you'll puke with your first, maybe you won't with your second. Maybe you'll have a vaginal birth with one and a c-section with another. Maybe your blood pressure will be perfect with your first two, not perfect with the the third, and then perfect again with the fourth.

You get the idea.

But I think the thing I've found to be most interesting and fun is the difference it makes when children are already in the house. How they react to the news of their mom's pregnancy, how they react to mommy's belly growing, etc. This round for me has been the most precious by far, and I know it's because my kids are a bit older, ages 7, 5, and 3.

Each day before he leaves for school, Caleb gives me a hug. But I am not the only one he hugs. Of course he hugs his brother and sister, but he also hugs my belly. It makes me teary almost every time! He never forgets, probably because my belly is sticking out now! He sometimes gives my belly a kiss, too, and always says, "Bye, bye, baby!"

Sarah and Gabriel do the same thing, Gabriel more so than Sarah. Several times a day, they will ask if they can hug or kiss the baby. I always smile and say of course. It amazes me how they already have a bond that I didn't expect.















Sarah talks about teaching the baby how to do things. She wants to teach her how to crawl, how to sit and walk, how to say her ABC's. She talks about playing with Barbies together and playing with My Little Ponies together. I realize that their age difference probably makes this an unrealistic thing, but she doesn't know that right now! The one thing I do think will make them close is the fact that Sarah already has brothers, and this is her sister. I think that's sweet.

It's been a rough road with this baby...for me anyway. Lots of puking, a trip to the ER (and a two-day hospital stay) with gall stones and pancreatitis, a spell of high blood pressure, a diagnosis of marginal placenta previa, and now at only 25 weeks, I'm already have pelvic pain that usually doesn't happen to me until the end. But I cannot even imagine not having this experience. I'll admit this pregnancy wasn't exactly planned (of course, neither were the other three), and even though I've had some overwhelmed feelings about having a forth baby, it all fades away with a sweet voice that says, "Mommy...can I give the baby a kiss?"

And I can't wait to kiss her sweet face in April.