One more season

Our man-child is coming! Some days that seems so surreal, but I feel him getting bigger in my womb and we're getting ready for him to be a big part of our lives. The season of summer ahead is all we have left to wait to meet him.

Like his sister, he prefers to lie traverse across my belly and push out. Must be something about the way I'm built that sideways is the most comfortable position. A few weeks ago I was uncertain which lump was his head and which was his back, but he's getting big enough I know for sure.

If anything, he pushes out more than Georgia did. Particularly at night. Daddy has the right touch to soothe his sometimes breathtaking stretching so I often borrow his hand and lay it on my belly. Baby Boy settles down and lets Mama sleep again. I smile when I think of this. Noah often calmed Georgia too when she'd go on kicking fits. Maybe some daddies would be disappointed the baby stopped moving when he came near, but not Noah. He considers it a job well done that he can soothe them with his touch. I like his thinking.

It's interesting to ponder what's the same and what's different this time. I do love hot dogs again and anything tart. Pickled cucumbers and vinegar chips rock. I'm carrying lower and don't look as round. I'm not having heartburn like I did before so I'm wondering if he'll be born without much hair. I'm not hiding in winter clothes so it's more obvious how big my belly is compared to my (as several people have commented) my skinny arms and chicken legs. I'm still wearing some regular clothes that are roomy enough, long enough, or forgiving enough for my now 7 months pregnant self. But I'm also gratefully wearing a whole new wardrobe of my sister in law's summer maternity clothes. I'm hoping September will be cool enough that I can return to my own maternity jeans and pants for the very end.

All those things should be considered with the caveat yet or we'll see if that lasts.

Of course, the biggest difference this time around is that there is a little person already here to take care of and to enjoy and to prepare for the baby's arrival. Our doula wants very much to help us transition and prepare Georgia for her baby brother. She suggested we talk about the baby hiding in Mommy's tummy and it really does seem to make sense to her using that term. After all, she likes to pretend she is missing and hide (calling out "Georgia's missing!" from her spot under the kitchen table) and she loves playing peek-a-boo.

My lap is getting smaller and reading together in her rocker now means we do it without the pillow behind me. It took me a while to figure out why she was wiggling and squirming so much. I don't think she understood either. She just knew it didn't feel right and was trying to find her spot! Sometimes we just lie next to each other on my bed or on the floor to read instead.

Though the floor isn't a great idea. My back locks up and I get stuck!

Like with her, the second trimester has brought some morning sickness. Mostly brought on by the heat of a shower and brushing my teeth too quickly afterwards. Let's just say I wasn't really prepared to hear my toddler ask, "Sick Mommy? Blah!" with the appropriate physical gesture.

She hasn't seen or felt his movements yet. He's a little too unpredictable and quick for her attention span. She likes to rest her head on my belly and talk to him. Mostly hello and "Are you in there?" Yesterday she tried to convince me he was in her belly and since he is a boy she needed to go into the boys' restroom to go to the potty. Ha!

I've learned to not refer to his movements as hitting and kicking. She cannot hit or kick me, so I'm not telling her he is! I cannot wait to see her face when she does see or feel him! I can just imagine big eyes and shock on her countenance.

He has a name now. It's actually two names we considered the first time around for a son. I also had them written down on an index card that I kept on top of my microwave (aka my prayer pile) all of last year and made a point to pack in a box that would become my nightstand when we moved. I really had no idea my prayers would be answered when they were, but I'm grateful he's on his way!

In the beginning of course we hoped for his life to continue day by day. We still do and prayerfully ask for a healthy full term child. But something has changed. He's real to us and more so every day. I really thought I wouldn't want to know the gender the second time but when the time came, I did. I wanted to know because I wanted to know this baby as a person.  Having reached the halfway mark of gestation and learning he is a boy, I also wanted him to have a name.

Beth Moore wrote this and perfectly explained my why...."There's something about a name. Instantly, the baby has an identity. It's a person. A person with a name. A person you'd now miss should anything, God help you, happen to (him). You don't really give your heart away to something until you know its name. You can feel affection and anticipation, but created in the image of God, you simply cannot surrender to something nameless."

I love his name. I love him. I love hearing his daddy say his name. I love hearing his sister experiment with it. I love the meaning of his first name. I love that his middle name is a part of Noah's personal history and our history as a couple. I love that he is a son. I love that he will carry on the family name. I love all the little outfits and abundance of blue laundry to do. I love that he is joining us and has already forever changed our lives.

It would be nice if Georgia would stop telling people she's getting a baby sister when they ask. I might have unduly influenced her with thoughts of a sister prior to knowing for sure, but now I think she just responds without thinking or maybe does it just to get a rouse out of me! Either way, it gets a chuckle every time and she then goes on to talk about Baby Boy.

Can't wait to see our two Coco + Noah's together!