Holy Cow....literally

Yes...I am huge. You don't have to point it out. It seems this last week I must have "popped". I have had so many comments about my size and my belly. I am getting to the point where I can't just graciously nod my head and say "yes, I am". If people are already saying this now...imagine what they will be saying in 7 or 8 weeks! I recently read a very funny post on my Birth Board on Babycenter.com. It is where mom's-to-be of August 2007 babies can discuss their pregnancies with people that are going through it RIGHT NOW with them. There are lots of interesting topics, but the other day someone posted a letter to Non-pregnant people.

One of the laws was that the ONLY appropriate response to "We are pregnant" is "CONGRATULATIONS!". Just yesterday I had someone break this rule. I went with some girlfriends (all of which are pregnant too...very amusing to see us all waddle in there) to get pedicures. This is the pregnant woman's DREAM! You get to sit in a massage chair and soak your feet, and then have someone massage your aching calves and ankles (even though it's hard to distinguish between the two) and then you leave with your toes looking pretty. Anyway, I am just settling into my chair when the man who is giving me my pedicure asks me if I am having a boy or a girl. I smile and say "girl". He then looks at me and says "oops". I wasn't quite sure what he meant considering he was Korean and there was a bit of a language barrier there, so I asked what he meant. He pointed to my belly and said "accidents happen". Let me tell you, this is NOT the thing to say to a pregnant woman in her 7th month when her foot is at your crotch level! I couldn't believe that he said that! I just looked at him and said "no, we are VERY happy about it". It kind of tainted the whole experience and I am pretty sure he rushed through it a bit. But in the end my legs felt better and my toes were pretty :) Mission accomplished.


Another law is that a woman's body does not become an open book. I have noticed in the last week that my belly is a magnet for people. You can see it in their eyes when they become transfixed on the belly in front of them and that they are moving in for a rub. I try to get out of the line of fire, but it doesn't always work and my belly ends up getting the rub down. This isn't nearly as mortifying as when someone questions me about OTHER parts of my body. I have had mere strangers question me on everything from the condition of my bladder, my girly parts and even my breasts! I had one gal tell ask me if I was planning on breast feeding. When I told her that I would most likely have to do both because of my schedule she *tsk'd* me and said that it was better for mommy and baby if I breast fed. Hm...where did I read in an etiquette book that it was OK to discuss a woman's breast and what she does with them??? I must have missed that one.

Another law that EVERYONE should abide by. There is a little saying that you never ask a woman her age or her weight. Apparently, this does not apply to pregnancy. This law goes on to say that despite what you may have heard, a woman, pregnant or not, does not want to hear how huge she is. I have had people proclaim "Holy Cow (not sure if the pun WAS intended), you are getting huge!" or "Wow...imagine how big you will be in two months!" or my favorite "Please tell me you aren't going to have that baby right here in front of me!" Up until now, I have just smiled sweetly and kind of shrugged, but inside I am thinking all kinds of one-liners to put them in their place. I just have to keep saying to myself "what would Jesus do...what would Jesus do"...and then I realize that Jesus wouldn't be in my position because he was a MAN and can't have a baby. Hm...I will have to reconsider this :) Yes, I know I am big, and YES I know that I will only continue to get bigger! I don't need to be reminded.

On this note...another pregnancy law. I am fully aware that summer in Kansas is hot and humid. I have suffered through it almost my entire life! I am also aware of how MUCH HOTTER it will be seem as I am to be pregnant until August. Reminding me of such things (or any pregnant woman) is just cruel and unusual. I have A/C and fans...I will survive as so many women before me have.

Enough of the pregnancy laws. There are more, so if you would like to see the rest let me know and I can send them to you. It is pretty amusing...but oh so true.

Tomorrow marks 30 weeks for me. For some reason this is another huge milestone. As long as I was in the "20's" it still seemed so far away...but now with only 10 weeks left (7 weeks until full term), I am finding myself daydreaming (and panicking) about my soon-to-be newborn. I can't wait until I have my little one in her nursery...and then I realize that the nursery isn't done. I can't wait until our little one is crawling around our home...and then I realize that our house is SO NOT baby safe. Then I think about holding and cuddling with my baby...until I remember that I will be holding and cuddling her at 2, 4 and 6 am!!! Yikes. Truth be told...I am so very excited that even those small moments of anxiety can't damper how ready I am to be a mom. I keep going back to Psalm 121:

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD watches over you— the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life;
8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

He has truly provided for us thus-far...why should I doubt that he will continue to watch over us and provide the help that we need to every venture in our lives!?! His Grace has been so prevalent in so many things that Ben and I do...and often we forget to give him the glory. But I will NOT deny him the glory in the life of my little baby. HE knew the perfect time for us and HE led us into the best lifestyle possible to bring a child into this world. HE has equipped us to be good parents by giving us wonderful examples in OUR parents. His Grace and mercy in our lives is so evident as you look back over both our life together and our lives apart. This gives the name that we have chosen for our little girl even more meaning. We find the name Gracelynn beautiful aesthetically, but every time I use it I pray that it will remind me to give that glory back to God. We are truly blessed with all that God has given us, and soon we will see yet another of His blessings through our baby. I found this verse that I hope will remind me that my baby is a blessing from God.

Psalms 45:2
You are the most excellent of men and your lips have been anointed with grace, since God has blessed you forever.

Not wanting to take the verse out of context, but the words are so beautiful. I see this verse as saying that my little girl will be the most excellent part of Ben and I and that she will be anointed with grace and blessed forever.

This blog has become very long and if you have made it all the way through...you probably have no life. :)

Until next time...