28 weeks, 5 days - Dear Baby

Dear Baby -

You're getting very big these days!  Right now, you're approximately 15 inches long and you weigh over 2lbs!  I can't believe how big and developed you are!  You are very squirmy and really seem to enjoy moving around in the middle of the night.  You don't seem to react differently to spicy or sweet foods, but I have seen you react to light.  It's kind of neat to watch you move across my belly when a bright light shines on you.  You're probably getting very crowded in there, as you're growing very fast at this point.  My website says that you're the size of a pumpkin, but I don't think it's ever seen the pumpkins we carve at Halloween.  That would be very large, indeed!

You seem to get the hiccups very frequently, which really shows that you're my offspring; Papa Fred used to call me, "the hiccup kid" because I got them so frequently as a child and I still get them at least once a day now.  I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable when I poke you, but I think it's very neat to feel my tummy and see where it's soft and where it's hard so I can try to visualize how you're laying and what you look like.  Based on the movements and bumps I keep feeling, you must be very strong.

I go back and forth on whether I think you're a boy or a girl.  At first, I was sure you were a girl then I was sure you were a boy.  Now, I just have no idea.  It doesn't matter to me, though.  I'm just so very excited to meet you.  Over the next few weeks, you have a whole bunch of weight to gain.  Apparently, you're only going to get a little bit longer but you should get a whole lot heavier before you come out to meet us.  I've been getting very nervous about meeting you and talking to a lot of people about how they knew it was time to go to the hospital.  Very nervous, but again, very excited, too.

Your dad is busy setting up your nursery in Atlanta and I have all of the things I think you'll need for the first few days of your life here with me in Washington, DC.  Well, not all of the things.  I don't have any diapers yet, but I'll worry about those a little bit closer to your due date.  My coworkers at IBM had a very nice shower for me a couple of weeks ago and my good friends Holly, Sheri, and Jeremy are planning a welcome party for you in early July.  Nana Deb is also planning a party so that all of her friends and our family can get to meet you once you're born.  Everyone is very very excited for your arrival... but we hope it's not too soon.  Better if you stay where you're at for a while yet.

Love you, Baby!  Can't wait to meet you!
love mama