Week 38: Letter to My Unborn Child

Dear Ziggy,

Today I am 38 weeks pregnant, which means we are only two weeks away from your due date! It's hard to believe that in just a few weeks (or sooner) we will be meeting face to face for the first time. In some ways I feel like I already know you (through your movements, ultrasound photos, and my own imaginings), and yet in many ways, you are still very much a mystery to your mama. I can't wait to see what you look like, how you behave, and who you will be(come). Even though your movements have become softer and less frequent overall, the other night as I was lying in bed, you were being quite active, and I could actually feel the outline and shape of your little foot against the inside of my belly. Oh, how I long to hold and kiss that perfect little foot and the rest of your yummy little body!

This week I've had more Braxton Hicks contractions, and sometimes I find them uncomfortable, which makes me wonder how you feel when I'm having them. Do you feel squeezed and compressed in there? Or is it like a nice full body massage? I suppose there's no way you can ever tell me.

Even though I am very eager to finally meet you, I feel nervous about the whole labor and delivery process. We have quite a task ahead of us, you and I. I also wonder how you will experience the labor. Will it be very uncomfortable or even painful for you to be squeezed through my birth canal? One thing I know for sure is that it will be traumatic, if only because you'll be forced from your nice, warm, cozy home in my womb, where all your needs are automatically met, into the cold, bright, harsh world outside, where you'll have to learn to eat and poop and breathe on your own for the very first time! Your baba and I will try to make the transition as comfortable for you as possible, but I know it wont be easy to adjust.

I can't wait to hold you close to me, to nurse you, rock you, bathe, you, and even diaper you! I can't wait to meet you and discover your own unique little personality, which I'm sure will be evident from the very beginning. Will you be more like your mama or baba or some other relative? I am so curious to find out.

I'm not sure why but I have a feeling you will arrive after your due date so if at all possible, could you come around November 8-10? That would be most convenient for all of us. But of course you should come whenever you're ready, although preferably before 41 weeks or else they'll have to induce me!

By the way, unless you decide to show up today, you will definitely be a Scorpio, just like your baba, which makes me very happy. I have always gotten along really well with Scorpios (most of my friends in high school were Scorpios). So, my little Scorpion, enjoy your last few weeks in my belly practicing your breathing (you're having hiccups as I type this), blinking, peeing, swallowing, dreaming, sleeping, and moving (as much as you can in those increasingly tight quarters). I love you so much already and long to have you safe and sound in my arms at last!

Love,
Your Mama